The Cat Was Killed From Curious Thrills
by DarkHououmon
Summary: "If you think I'll go easy on you, think again, Snap. You aren't human. You're just some chalk creature that invaded our world. I intend to get the truth from you, one way or another."
1. The Catch

Author's Note: I had a random idea for a story, so I wrote this out. I don't know how often it'll be updated, though. It was sort of an on the fly thing I thought of.

sss

It just didn't make any sense. No matter how much he looked at the situation, no matter how much he analyzed it based on what he was told, it just didn't add up. Something about it was wrong. There was something missing. He couldn't quite think of what it was. But something was definitely wrong here.

Mr. Wilter had been pacing around in his living room for the past hour, trying to make sense of everything. His mind replayed the incident over and over again. He usually was good at making sense of things. He was an intellectual teacher after all. He didn't waste time on cartoons or anything like that, giving him more time to focus on the logical. He could hear the craziest story ever and he could, sometimes, look it over and have it make some sort of sense.

But this time, he just could not. And it frustrated him, giving him a headache. There was something wrong with the story, he knew, but he hadn't been able to pinpoint just what it was. He knew that, if he kept thinking about it, regardless of how much his head hurt him, he would figure out some kind of sense to it. The story, he knew it must have some kind of logic behind it. Even if he had to search the very back of his mind, he would figure it out. He often did in the past. He was not going to let this be one of those stories that 'got away from him'.

But something about Snap White just didn't add up. No matter how hard he thought, there was just something wrong with that foreign exchange student thing that Penny told him. It had been months since the incident and he hadn't thought much of it lately...until he had passed by Terry Bouffant while on his way to the grocery store. She had made a quick mention of Snap, the blue kid, and said something about how he was not a foreign exchange student.

At first, Wilter had just dismissed it. Nothing about Snap seemed that odd to him. He looked like any regular kid to him. An obsession with superhero costumes, for certain, but nothing really that out of the ordinary. He had thought about ordering Snap to take off his costume, but class had just started and he didn't want to waste time conversing with a student when he knew he had to begin class. Principal Stringent would not be pleased if she came down the hallway and saw that he still hadn't started class yet.

Now, thinking back, he realized that Penny's story really did not make a lot of sense. He didn't know why he didn't catch on earlier. Snap's sudden appearance did seem rather odd. He didn't hear the door open or see Snap moving over to the chair. And just how had he not heard of this foreign exchange program? If Rudy was going to be absent for a day, temporarily replaced by Snap, he should have gotten word of it. Principal Stringent should have told him, but she didn't seem to know about this exchange program either.

And then Rudy, somehow, showed up back in school the same day. He had seemed so confused when he told him about that essay on Greenland, like he had no idea why he would give him a random assignment. Rudy should have expected such an assignment if he really did go to Greenland. The fact the sounded puzzled and looked confused made Wiltr realize that maybe, just maybe, Rudy never was in Greenland after all.

It made sense if he wasn't. Greenland was pretty far away. It would require a plane ticket that was a few hundred dollars. The so-called foreign exchange program only lasted a day, but from what he read, the shortest they usually are is a week, at least around here that's how it was. Maybe two weeks. Why would Snap's parents pay for a one-way ticket that would cost them hundreds of dollars...just for Snap to say one day? That didn't make any sense. The only logical conclusion Wilter could come to is that Snap wasn't from Greenland.

But if he wasn't from Greenland, then where was he from? And why would Penny lie to him about his whereabouts? Surely there was nothing wrong with telling him where Snap came from, was there? When he tried talking to Rudy, he came up with the same story. He wasn't sure if this meant that they really were, somehow, telling the truth and Snap's case was just really bizarre, or if Penny had come up with a cover story and shared it with Rudy, and Rudy was just using it. Wilter realized that the only thing that would make the most sense is if Rudy and Penny were trying to hide Snap's true land of origin.

Why, though? Why would they lie about that? What was the point? Mr. Wilter was not going to fault Snap no matter where he came from. He could come from the most unpleasant part of the world, and as long as he behaved himself here and didn't cause trouble, he had no problem. And yet, despite that, Rudy and Penny still lied to him. He knew there had to be some reason. Was Snap's place of origin really so special that they couldn't tell him? Was it so difficult for them to tell him the truth about where he came from? Was the place Snap from dangerous? Bizarre? Different? Was it going to cause a riot of word spread of where he was from?

Then his thoughts wandered back to Terry Bouffant. He recalled that she had been working on a 'world of chalk' story for quite some time. She was obsessed with it, working on it from practically every angle. He had seen her tail Rudy and Penny in school. He hadn't done much about it as he thought it was pretty harmless. The worst she was doing was annoying the heck out of those two. He had been interviewed by her before. She was eccentric and a little nutty, but overall harmless.

He recalled the story he had given her. He remembered, months ago, seeing someone break into his classroom. When he had walked in, he saw someone in the chalkboard and there was a bright white light. The person had erased the portal that was on the chalkboard. He had then gone to the police station to report it. The police hadn't taken him seriously and wondered why he was acting crazy. This agitated Wilter. Even today, it still hit a sore spot. There was no way he could have imagined something like that. He did not have a wild imagination. He wouldn't lie about something like that.

Especially when he saw two kids walking out of the chalkboard... No way he'd make something like that up. Maybe as a kid, he might have. But not as an adult. He had gotten too mature to make up such wild stories. He had gotten himself arrested when he tried to point out the two kids that suddenly appeared in the police station. But no one believed him, and he ended up going to jail for a little while for causing such a ruckus at the station. He was lucky to keep his teaching credentials after that and continue on with his job.

He had tried his best not to think about the incident. Reliving it when he was talking with Terry had not been very pleasant. He remembered the names he was called while he was stuck in prison. Those stinging words... they came back to his head as he thought about the incident again. But this time, he realized something else that he hadn't taken notice of before. Something he wished he had realized sooner. The children that had crawled out of the chalkboard... It had been Rudy and Penny...

He knew he should have known this before. There was no mistaking those two. Rudy with his artwork... Penny with her love of science.. They were two of the most distinguishing students in his class. How had he not realized it was them earlier? He soon realized the reason why. He had been so worked up over seeing someone in his chalkboard, he wasn't thinking clearly. His mind didn't register the fact those kids were his students. All he could see was two people getting out of the chalkboard and then erasing the portal. But now that he was thinking more clearly and not so high strung on panic and shock, he could think back to the incident and realize it was Rudy and Penny that he saw.

Thinking back to Terry and her obsession with the world of chalk, and then back to the incident of seeing Rudy and Penny climbing out of the chalkboard, Mr. Wilter was able to start putting together the pieces of the puzzle. This world of chalk...it may very well be real. Quite real in fact. And if it was, and if Rudy and Penny have access to it, was it too much of a stretch that Snap might be from there? That would indeed explain why Rudy and Penny would lie about where he came from. Saying he came from a land of chalk drawings may not have suited well with him. Plus, a chalk world was a very big deal, something different and bizarre. He imagined his two students didn't want word of that place getting out.

Then something else came to his mind. He remembered when he saw a 'rude drawing' on the chalkboard when he came into class that fateful day. He hadn't realized it until now, but the drawing was identical to the blue kid that showed up just seconds later. His mind reeled when he thought about some of the things Terry commented on during their conversation, some things that other people who had seen Snap pointed out. Those mysterious '2D powers'... Even if Snap was a contortionist, no one could bend the way he could have as described by those who saw it. The only way was if he...was if he really was a 2D drawing...

The realization struck the back of his head like a lightning bolt. His body stiffened up, freezing here he stood. His eyes widened. Yes...that would explain everything. Snap came from this chalk world... Rudy and Penny knew about this world and for some reason, want to keep it a secret... So they come up with a cover story that, at first worked, but now was falling apart under scrutiny... His legs feeling weak, Wilter fell back into the couch. His mind reeled with this discovery, and he tried his best to digest it.

The idea of an alternate dimension connected to their own, where anything drawn on a blackboard comes to life, it was a frightening realization, one that sent cold shivers down Mr. Wilter's spine. What if these beings were dangerous? Snap seemed like he was okay. He didn't try to hurt anyone. But then, what if he was hiding his true intentions? And what of these other chalk creatures? What were they like? If anything drawn on a blackboard appears in this world, like Terry theorized, then didn't that mean this world was populated by giant monsters? He knows the kind of things kids like to draw. Some were harmless, while others... and the idea of them becoming real..being able to enter their world...

Mr. Wilter rubbed his head, a pain sweeping through it was he tried to cope with this news. This chalk world could be dangerous. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that something needed to done about it. Terry's reports have proven that these chalk creatures have access to their world. Sure, not many of them had come. There was Snap who seemed harmless and friendly enough. And there were those frog-like things that appeared once, who disappeared suddenly, likely going through a chalkboard Terry had theorized.

But the idea of them having the ability to come into Plainsville at all was terrifying. If harmless things could come through, what about more vicious things? What kind of creatures lurked in this chalk world? What would happen if more of them came through? If relatively passive creatures like that blue kid could come through, then, by logic, wouldn't it be very easy for more aggressive chalk creatures to make it through? This world of chalk... there was so much hidden danger. He...he couldn't just keep quiet about it. He had to do something. He had to make sure that those beings of chalk didn't have some kind of plan to invade the real world. He had to make sure steps were taken to prevent these chalk creatures from trying anything.

How was he going to do this, though? He had so little information. He needed to figure out how he could get more data before he could make an appropriate move. The first thought that came to his mind was talking with Terry. But she was out of town right now. She'd be back relatively soon, but he wanted to take action as soon as possible. He wasn't in the mood to just wait for her. There was Vinnie, who had claimed to be in the world of chalk, but he was too nutty for him. He didn't think he was stupid or anything, but someone like him wasn't exactly subtle. He needed to think of something else.

He heard some kids' voices outside. He got up from his couch, his legs still a little wobbly from his discovery. He went over to the window and lifted up part of the blinds. He peered outside and he could see some kids outside trick-or-treating. He had almost forgotten it was Halloween. He knew these kids weren't going to come by his house. He had his porch light turned off as he did not have candy this year. He wasn't interested in participating in the whole trick-or-treating thing. He did have a Halloween decoration up, pretty fancy one at that, but nothing else beyond that.

He soon took notice that, among the group of kids across the street, there was Rudy and Penny. Rudy was dressed up as some kind of knight while Penny wore a scientific-looking costume. Wilter grumbled softly to himself and started to turn around before he suddenly noticed someone else. There was a third person with them, standing right behind Rudy. Wilter's eyes widened as he realized it was Snap. He had come back into the real world. And he was trick-or-treating... That made sense. His superhero costume did fit in with Halloween. Everyone around him would think he was just some small kid who really loved that superhero costume. No one would think any differently.

But Mr. Wilter knew better. At least, now he did. There was something different about that kid, and now he knew why. He realized that this might be his best chance at getting information. Snap might be able to tell him exactly what he needs to know. But how to proceed? He didn't think just asking him to come over would work well. He might not get the information he needed if he got all three of them to come over. No, he knew he had to weed Snap out from the group, get him alone so he can talk to him.

But how to proceed with that? He didn't have any candy to offer, or anything sweet. He didn't have a convincing story to get Snap to speak with him alone. And he might not be able to come up with anything convincing. If Rudy or Penny become suspicious, they might follow him or tell their parents or even the principal. He knew he had to be smart about this. The more he thought about it, the more there was really only one way he could get Snap alone without inciting suspicion from Rudy and Penny that he was with him.

Kidnapping Snap...

The thought sent chills down his spine. He had never thought about kidnapping someone before. It wasn't in his nature. He was not interested in getting arrested again. He would normally never think of kidnapping a child before. He knew it might..no it would land him in more hot water. People don't take too kindly to someone who kidnaps a child.

Then something hit him. Snap was a different story. He realized he shouldn't feel all that guilty about kidnapping him. He wasn't a child. He was not human. He was just a drawing. A chalk drawing that had crossed the boundaries of his world and into theirs. And now that he was in their world, in their territory, he should know that there are consequences to that. He continued to look out the window, his eyes narrowing slowly. Yes.. Snap would tell him what he needed to know. Before the night was over, he would be in his custody.

Although he knew there may be consequences, especially if the police believe Rudy and Penny's story about Snap being human, Mr. Wilter felt getting him was the best course of action. With the possibility of these things posing a threat, he had to take some course of action to protect the people of Plainsville. These chalk creatures must be dealt with. They needed to be...tamed... And the first one who will be was that Snap 'kid'.

He just needed to figure out the right moment...to strike.

sss

Rudy, Penny, and Snap walked down the street together. They followed behind a group of other kids, all dressed up in costume. Rudy was having a great time with his friends. He knew they were having a wonderful time as well. He wished he had thought about this before. He and Penny loved to trick-or-treat, but they hadn't thought of bringing Snap along before. He was always wearing a costume, so he'd fit right in.

Snap had been excited when they invited him to come alone. He didn't even need to get ready. Already wearing a costume, all he really needed was a trick-or-treat basket, which Penny was happy to provide for him. This gave Snap a good opportunity to walk around Rudy's neighborhood without worry of being spotted. Everyone would just think he was some little kid in a costume.

Snap loved the idea. He was really big into exploring new places. He hadn't been around Rudy's neighborhood that much, so this gave him an opportunity to look around it without appearing suspicious. He looked left and right, taking in the sight. Rudy could tell he was enjoying himself. He couldn't help but smile at this. Snap didn't get to explore the real world that much due to certain factors, such as real world water. So any chance he had to explore some bits of the real world without worry of getting hurt always made Snap happy.

He did have a little outburst about the real world being horrible, but that was just because Snap was just startled from his hand being washed away by water. He flinched at the memory. That had to have hurt. At least the damage never went beyond that and he was able to fix it. He was also glad that Snap's initial dislike of the real world diminished since he knew what to expect. The real world had some differences from ChalkZone. Some Snap didn't like, others he did, or at least didn't mind.

"This is great, Rudy!"

Snap's voice took Rudy out of his thoughts. He looked over at his friend. He could see that Snap was holding up his bag, showing off all the candy he had gotten. Rudy couldn't help but smile at this.

"I never knew gathering candy could be fun!" Snap said with a smile on his face.

Penny giggled at this and pointed a finger at him. "Well it's not like you can even eat the candy."

"Yeah I know." Snap said. His mouth spread into a grin. "But so what? At least I'm enjoying the experience! Besides, this candy won't go to waste." He jerked the bag forward a little. "I'm going to give it to you guys after we're done!"

"That's really nice of you, Snap." Rudy said, smiling.

"Yeah." Penny said. "Nice of you to think of us like that..." She glanced down at her bag. "...although we do already have a lot of candy."

"Oh peh shaw!" Snap waved a dismissive hand. "You can never have too much candy! Besides, I don't think your folks would mind you bringing home some extra candy this night, would they?"

Penny scratched her chin thoughtfully. "No I suppose not. I could come up with some kind of story to explain to my mom why I have more candy than I usually do."

"My parents wouldn't mind. They're used to me bringing home a ton of candy anyway." Rudy said. He was about to continue when he heard a small beep sound. He looked down at the watch his mother gave to him to use for tonight. There was a reason for it. "Sorry, we have to stop trick-or-treating now." Rudy said sadly.

"Aww...but why?" Snap looked so disappointed.

"Sorry, Snap. But my mom wants me back now." Rudy explained. "She invited my aunt Tilly and cousin Sophie over for a small Halloween party. She expects me to be home soon." He really wished he could trick-or-treat some more. He was having a great time with his friends. Then a thought crossed his mind. His mom never said he couldn't invite anyone else to come over. Plus, they needed to go back to his house anyway so that Snap can go back to ChalkZone. He stared at his two friends and asked, "Would you two like to come with? I'm sure my mom won't mind if you guys come over."

"That's a great idea!" Penny said with a big grin on her face. "I don't think my mom would care if I come over to your place for a little while. I can call her when we get to your house."

"I'd love to spend some time with you at this party, Bucko! But uhh..." Snap smiled somewhat nervously. "Do you mind getting me something to drink from ChalkZone? I'm a little parched and you know that real world water goes right through me..literally."

Rudy gave a lighthearted chuckle. "Okay, Snap. What would you like?"

"Just some water." Snap replied. He paused, rubbing his chin. "Oh and maybe some candy, too. All this trick-or-treating is making me want some candy.

"Okay then." Rudy looked at his friends and motioned with his hand. "Come on, let's go! My parents will be upset if I'm late coming home!"

With that, Rudy, Penny, and Snap turned around and started to run back towards his house. Rudy didn't usually run back to his house like this, but considering he was going to be late if he didn't and he'd rather not upset his parents, there was really no harm in it. Besides, a little exercise never hurt anyone. Penny ran along beside him. Snap wasn't as fast, but he wasn't that much slower either. He was about a foot behind them.

As they ran, moving along past other trick-or-treaters who were coming up this street, Rudy thought about what kind of fun he and his friends will have at the small party. His mom said there would be a couple of games and a movie they'd watch. They hadn't chosen the exact movie yet. He was hoping it was not going to be some horror movie. He wasn't in the mood for getting scared tonight, plus it would not be appropriate for Sophie.

They would reach his house soon. They were coming down to the four-way intersection now. They just had to make a turn and then they would be on his street. The intersection was easily recognizable by the tall bushes and thick tree that grew here. He and Penny used to play around here when they were a little younger and a little smaller. It was an excellent hiding spot...at least until they used it so often it was the first place they looked.

He made the turn, grabbing onto the pole and swinging himself so he turned onto his street. He and his friends continued to race down the sidewalk. By now, they didn't run into anymore trick-or-treaters. So it was easy for them to make a straight shot all the way to his house. He could see it off in the distance. He pushed himself harder, wanting to get home as soon as he could. He knew his folks would have some apple cider ready to drink. He smacked his lips together in anticipation. Like Snap, he was getting thirsty and he knew Penny was as well.

Soon they reached his house. He and his friends stopped at the door, panting heavily. He took the time to catch his breath. They hadn't run that far, so it didn't take long for him to calm down his speeding heart. He glanced over at Penny, watching as she took in several deep, quick breaths. He waited for her to catch her breath as well before he decided to speak to her.

Moments later, Rudy said, "Next time, I'll try to plan this ahead more often. I do feel back about bringing this up at the last minute." He turned his attention to his house door. "I hope my folks won't mind."

Penny narrowed her eyes a little. "Why would they mind?"

"I guess I'm just worried about upsetting them. I don't think they'd be upset, but..." Rudy gave a soft sigh. "I guess I just wish that I thought this through more. I hate making decisions this late."

"Oh don't worry about it, Rudy." Penny said, a soft smile on your face. "It will be fine. You'll see."

"Yeah, I'm sure it will be." Rudy said, smiling back.

Yeah, Penny was right. It would be fine. His parents would be understanding. It's not like he was bringing total strangers into the house. They knew Penny and they were at least familiar with Snap as he had told them the foreign exchange student story in the past. He still felt like he should have thought of his sooner as he didn't like making last minute decisions like this. He felt he should have planned this out from the beginning. Oh well, nothing he can do about it now.

He walked up to the door, Penny standing next to him. He reached for the doorknob and grabbed a hold of it. He paused for a moment. He realized he had forgotten to ask Snap about what kind of candy he wanted. He leaned himself back a little and turned his head to the side so that he can hear his friend's voice more easily.

"Hey Snap! What types of candy would you like me to draw?" Rudy asked.

There was silence. Snap did not reply. Rudy wondered if he needed to speak up louder. Snap might have fallen a little behind them. He waited a little bit and then tried again.

"Snap! What kind of candy do you want?" Rudy inquired, speaking in a somewhat louder, more clear voice than before.

But still no reply. Rudy wondered if Snap was deliberately ignoring him. No..that wasn't right. Maybe he just didn't hear him? No, that wasn't right either. Snap was not a quiet zoner. The only thing he can think of is that Snap had fallen behind. When he turned around, he saw that only Penny was with him, but not Snap. Rudy felt bad. Snap really had fallen well behind them. They should have stopped and let him catch up.

Rudy walked away from his door and out towards the street. Penny followed close behind him, the look on her face indicating she realized the same thing he did. He went onto the sidewalk where he knew Snap would be coming down.

"Snap, we're sorry we didn't wait for..." Rudy's voice trailed off, his eyes widening in horror. He heard Penny give a sharp gasp, the same thought running through her mind as well.

Snap...was nowhere to be seen...

Cold chills rushed through their body. Where..where was Snap? His heart beating quickly, forgetting that he had to be home right now, Rudy started to run down the sidewalk. Penny followed close behind, panic etched on her face. There..there was no way he could have just disappeared like that. He had to be down here somewhere. He just had to. He and Penny ran back along the street they just came from, up to where the intersection was.

Upon reaching it, they looked down the other street, the one they were just on before. Still no sign of Snap anywhere. They looked around, trying to find any blue prints he may have left behind by mistake, a torn piece of clothing, a fallen piece of candy, anything that might give them a clue. But they found nothing. There was no sign of their friend anywhere. The realization that he had just..vanished...sent shivers down their spine. All of a sudden, all the joy they felt during their trick-or-treating, all the excitement they felt at the prospect of a party, it all disappeared, replaced by cold fear.

Rudy's breathing rate increased, his heart pounding against his chest. He looked left and right frantically. Where could Snap have gone? He was with them when they were heading down this street. And he was certain he was with them when they made the turn... But then he realized that he really didn't know exactly where he would have disappeared. He was so focused on getting back... Snap could have went off in a different direction without him realizing it, or maybe someone took him. Rudy hoped that Snap just wandered off on his own and just got a little lost somewhere. He did enjoy exploring.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over and saw Penny staring at him with a sympathetic expression. She said, "Don't worry, Rudy. We'll find him."

Rudy wanted to believe her. He so wanted to. But he didn't even know where they could begin looking. Snap could have gone in any direction, and it was getting dark out. They couldn't stay out much longer. Their parents would want them back home soon. How were they going to continue to look for him?

Penny seemed to read his mind. She said, "Let's go back to your house, Rudy. I'll call my mom and say I'm spending the night at your place. I'll come out here and do some searching on my own."

"By yourself?" Rudy asked, his eyes wide.

"It's a safe neighborhood, Rudy. And besides, trick-or-treating will still go on for about an hour." Penny said, a small smile on her face. "I'll use that hour to try to find Snap. I'll bring him over as soon as I find him. It will be fine, Rudy. I'm sure Snap just took a wrong turn or something."

"That's what I'm thinking to..." Rudy said softly. "I'm hoping that's what it was. It just...scares me so much that he just disappeared like that and we didn't even notice..."

"It scares me too, Rudy. But I'm sure everything will be okay. I'll try my best to find Snap. As soon as I do, I'll come back to your place." Penny said, pulling Rudy into a partial hug, her arm slung around his shoulder. "Now why don't you go back to your parents and try to enjoy yourself a little? I'll be back with Snap as soon as I can."

"O-Okay..." Rudy wasn't entirely sure about this. But he knew Penny was right. Having her look for Snap was the best option right now. His parents weren't going to let him stay out too late, especially when they want him home for the party. He gave Penny the best smile he could. "Be safe..."

Penny smiled back at him. She hugged him tighter. "Don't worry. We will..." She released him and backed away a little. She paused and then said. "Let's head back now, Rudy. Let me talk to my mom and after that, I'll head out and look for Snap. I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise."

With that, Rudy turned and started to head back towards his house. Penny followed beside him, keeping herself in his line of sights so he is assured that she didn't disappear as well. As they headed back, preparing to put Penny's plan in motion, Rudy's mind swirled with thoughts of what had happened. He had no idea how Snap had disappeared like that. Why would he wander off? Or did he wander off? A dreadful thought endtered his mind. Had...had something else happened...?

He might be overthinking things. He might be overreacting. But the realization that Snap may have been taken... It was something that he knew wasn't very farfetched. This neighborhood might be safe, but that didn't mean it was without its dangers. That was why he was worried about Penny going on her own. He knew it was useless trying to talk her out of it, though. She sounded very determined, and she was right. It was Halloween night and it would be difficult for anyone to grab her.

But if Snap were taken, if he was kidnapped...were was the kidnapper hiding? And would they go after Penny as well? His heart clenched at the thought. He felt trapped. He didn't want Penny going off alone, but he also didn't want to deny her the chance to find Snap. If he was kidnapped, the sooner they looked for him, the better. The same applied if he just got lost. He wanted to find Snap himself, but his folks likely won't let him back out at night. In the end, the only options he had was either force Penny to wait with him before they looked for Snap or he let Penny go on her own and risk losing her as well.

In the end, he realized there was really only one option he could take. He didn't know how he wa s going to pull it off. He knew that his folks may not like it. He already talked to himself why it may not work. But in the end, it was the only option he could think of that would satisfy everyone's needs. Penny couldn't go alone. He couldn't just go home knowing that Snap might be in trouble. And Snap probably couldn't afford to wait before someone found him. The only choice he could make was...

...going with Penny to look for Snap. He'll talk to his folks and try to see if there's any way they'll let him go out for a little while. And once he did, he and Penny would search for Snap. He hoped he was okay.

sss

Snap couldn't believe it. Why did he have to do this? He had never done some thing so stupid in his life... Okay maybe he had. This wasn't the first time he had just wandered off when Rudy and Penny weren't looking. There was the time he was flung into the real world and Penny took him outside and told him to stay put. And what did he do? He wandered off, though granted, he at least stayed on the playground.

This time, though, he did something even stupider. He had been running along behind Rudy and Penny. Then something caught his eye. There were some pretty-looking Halloween decorations on the other street. Elaborate-looking too, and it was singing some kind of song. The colors were so captivated, Snap found it hard to look away. Without realizing it, he started to wander over across the street and towards the decorations. He wanted to see this up close and personal His drive to explore, his curiosity, it was getting the better of him and soon he found himself on the street, standing in front of the decorations.

He had stared in awe at the bright colors, listened to the wonderful music, and walked around the decorations, looking at it up and down. Once he felt he had his 'fill' per say of looking and listening to this thing, he decided to catch up to Rudy and Penny. But when he went back towards the street, he didn't see where they went. He knew they had gone back to his house and there was a street they turned on but...which one was it...?

With a cold sensation, Snap realized that he had no idea which street Rudy's house was on. He was not that familiar with the real world yet. He didn't know street names or land marks. He had no idea how he was going to find his way back to Rudy and Penny. His heart started to beat quickly. He tried not to panic. He..he just had to stay here and wait for them. Yeah, that's it. They would realize he wasn't with them and they'd come back for him. He knew they would. And when they did, he'd apologize for wandering off like that.

He still couldn't believe how stupid he was. He was usually smart enough to know that he shouldn't just take off like that, especially in some place he didn't know that well. He bet Rudy and Penny were going to be worried sick about them. He felt awful, knowing that he must have caused them to panic. He was usually never far behind them. He knew better than to wander off, and yet he had, and all because he was curious about that Halloween decoration. Ah well, nothing he can do about it now except wait for Rudy and Penny. He was not going to make the mistake of wandering off again and getting himself more lost.

Just then, he heard footsteps behind him. He could feel a shadow casting down on his body. He didn't have time to turn around when he felt something looped around his head. A cloth...and it was suddenly tied tightly, forcing his jaws together. With his mouth tied shut, he could only let out muffled cries. He tried to remove it, but a pair of hands grabbed onto him, pinning his arms at this sides. He was dragged backwards, behind held by someone larger and stronger than he was. Before he knew it, he was pulled into the house.

Snap struggled against his captor, trying to kick at them, trying to free his arms to punch them, anything. He shook his head from side to side, a desperate attempt to get the cloth off his head. The cloth pressed tightly against his skin, making it impossible for him to move his jaws open. He tried to twist his head around a little to see who had taken him. But at this angle, he was no chance. The figure was keeping him still, pressed against their body.

Soon he was taken down to what appeared to be a basement of some kind. It certainly smelled like one. And it looked like one as well. The basement was barely lit, mostly dark. It had a dank feeling to it, which irritated his skin. It was similiar to how humidity felt to him. He was already uncomfortable and this guy hadn't really done much to him at all. The longer he stayed here, the more irritated his skin would become. At least it wasn't going to kill him...but that didn't make the situation much better.

The figure took him over to what appeared to be a chair. Simple one, metal in structure. He was dropped down into it. Snap attempted to jump off the chair, but he was yanked back when his captor grabbed his arms. He was pulled back. He winced in pain when his arms were painfully bent behind his back and crossed over each other. The figure took some rope and began to tie his arms together behind the chair. More rope was pressed across his chest, and then his legs and lap, immobilizing him on the chair. He struggled to get free, but it was no use.

"I am surprised it was so easy to catch you." His captor spoke. "I would have thought I had to do more planning. But I guess I just got lucky tonight."

Snap's eyes widened at that voice. No, it couldn't be... He wouldn't do something like this, would he? No, he must be hearing wrong. This man might be strict, but he wouldn't resort to kidnapping... That wasn't like him. It had to be mistaken identity...it just had to be... It wasn't possible that he would do something like this.

Then his captor spoke again, as if reading his mind. "I normally would not dream of kidnapping someone... The idea frightens myself. Kidnapping a child is a low blow..." The figure gave a soft sigh. "But then, you aren't a child, are you? At least..not a human one."

At this, Snap felt his blood freeze. His eyes widened in horror. This figure...they..they knew he wasn't human. Somehow..they knew.. He felt his body start to tremble a little as the realization swept through his body. This wasn't good. Oh no...why did he have to wander off? Why didn't he just stick with Rudy and Penny? Now look where he was... Tied up and gagged in someone's basement. He should have heeded the warning about curiosity killing the cat.

The figure started to walk around him. And soon they stood in front of him. Snap looked at the figure, trying to get a good look at him. There was so little light here, it was hard for him to tell just how it was. The shape of this person did seem familiar. He was certain he had seen this person somewhere before. He saw the figure hold up something in his hand. He pushed himself back in the chair, wondering what his captor was going to do with him.

"I know I fell for the whole foreign exchange student program, Snap...but I'm not buying it anymore." The figure said. Snap looked up at the figure in fear. "I took you down here so I can figure out the truth. I know you are a chalk drawing Snap. All the clues add up to that." At this, Snap cringed, horror welling up inside of him. "And I intend to find out more about your kind... I intend to find out how your kind can be controlled...just in case it ever becomes a..necessity."

Snap couldn't believe what he was hearing. This guy kidnapped him to find out how to control zoners? And what necessity was he talking about? Why did this guy think controlling zoners was required? How did he find out all this anyway? What exactly did he have planned for him? Was he going to try to control him? Snap struggled harder against the ropes, knowing that he had to get away somehow.

"Struggle all you want to. You aren't going anywhere." The figure said. He moved in a little closer to Snap. The thing in his hand was raised up higher. "You aren't leaving until I learn what I want from you. And maybe I'll practice...taming methods on you.. You are a chalk creature, and therefore, it is best if methods of control are found. You might be a danger to society."

A danger to society? Is that what this guy thinks he is? When had he done anything that showed he was a menace, a danger to anyone? And this guy wanting to tame him like he was some kind of dog..how revolting. He wasn't some stray animal he found in the alleyways of some city. He was a sentient person, and he had kidnapped him. He had to find someway to get out of here, and fast.

The figure positioned the item he held in his hand over his head. Snap could see the man's fingers moving towards something. There was a click and suddenly green light shined down on him, bright and blinding. Snap shut his eyes, letting out a muffled cry. He shifted his head to the side, shielding his eyes from the bright light. He slowly turned his head as his eyes adjusted. His eyes widened as the green flashlight had illuminted the figure enough that he could definitely tell who it was. Horror swept through him and he found himself shaking his head in utter disbelief.

The figure used his free hand to reach over and undo the knot that held his jaws together. The figure pulled the cloth away, allowing Snap to open his mouth. Snap took in a few deep breaths, his eyes wide in shock at who was standing before him.

"Mr. Wilter...?" Snap asked, his voice low and soft.

"Yes..." Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes. He put the flashlight over Snap's head, illuminating his face green. "Now..talk..." He commanded, his voice sounding scarier than it ever did, permeating Snap's soul. The zoner stared at the grumpy old teacher in fear.


	2. An Attempt Of Escape

Snap was frozen in fear. He couldn't believe this was happening to him. He had no idea how this night changed so quickly from being an incredible night with his friends, to being a terrifying predicament, trapped here with none other than Mr. Wilter. His mind raced, thoughts filling his head. Rudy and Penny...they wouldn't know what happened to him. Would they find him in time? How far was Wilter willing to go to get what he wanted?

Mr. Wilter never struck him as a very violent person. Based on what he was told by Rudy, Mr. Wilter can be stern, sometimes has outbursts, but overall is a pretty decent human being, in the sense that he wouldn't hurt anyone. That, for a moment, brought some comfort to Snap. Knowing that Mr. Wilter wouldn't resort to violence was comforting and might make this stay a little more bearable.

But that relief was short-lived when he realized what Mr. Wilter said to him before. Any relief that was in him melted away, replaced with apprehension. Wilter was willing to hurt him, he was certain of that. Because Wilter did not see him as human... While he was right, the way he said it convinced Snap that, because of this, Wilter likely saw him less as human, and thus, may be more willing to hurt him. So far, Wilter has not done anything specific to prove or disprove this train of thought, but he had a feeling that, sooner or later, he was going to find out.

Mr. Wilter stood in front of him, glaring harshly down at him. Snap felt his body shivering from fear. He had met Mr. Wilter before, under better circumstances, when the teacher thought he really was from Greenland. Now, when the man looked at him, he saw the distrust and anger in those eyes. Anger that he was lied to...distrust that he wasn't human, but some being made of chalk... The man held the green flashlight, the light shining on him still. Snap had adjusted to the light and Mr. Wilter appeared darker due to the contrast created by the flashlight. It made the situation seem scarier to him.

What was he going to do? He couldn't just hand information over to him whilly nilly. That would be disastrous... If Wilter found out about ChalkZone... how to get into it... zoner weaknesses... That would bring about disaster. There were so many things that pose a danger to zoners, and if he let it slip out about any of them... There was no telling what would happen. He had no idea how far Wilter was willing to take this. He didn't know if he was going to use that knowledge to bring harm to zoners. He hadn't yet confirmed if that was his intention or not. He hadn't said what he was going to do with the knowledge once he obtained it, except when he mentioned something about controlling the zoners.

The offensive thought made him shudder. Why did this man think zoners needed to be controlled? Why did he want to try to tame them? Was he going to try to tame him? He was still miffed about that comment, though he hardly noticed due to his fear. This man was willing to try to figure out methods of control, and he bet that he was going to be the guinea pig to try these out on. A sickening feeling rose in Snap's gut as he realized that, if Mr. Wilter's efforts work, he might be reduced to an obediant dog, doing whatever the man told him to do.

The thought was chilling. He didn't want to be reduced to being someone's performing monkey. He didn't want to walk around with a leash on, figuratively speaking. He was a sentient living being. Mr. Wilter should treat him with some level of decency, not like he was some wild animal that he caught. He wished this man would understand this. Why couldn't he see how what he was doing was wrong? Oh wait, he did acknowledge that, but because he wasn't human, Wilter doesn't feel he should worry about feeling guilty with trapping him. That's the vibe he was getting.

The longer he was quiet, the angrier Mr. Wilter looked. Snap shuddered, shrinking under the cold gaze of those eyes. He turned his head and tried to look away. This didn't last long as the mean reached out and gripped his head. With a painful twist, he was forced to look back at him. Snap's eyes widened as he saw just how close he was. Those intense eyes...it made him whimper in fear. There was clear intent in those eyes. From the look in those eyes, Snap could tell that Wilter was likely willing to do whatever it took to get what he wants.

Snap had to resist. He had to not tell Wilter anything about zoners, nothing about ChalkZone. He couldn't let him find out more. He couldn't betray the other zoners like that. He would never be able to forgive himself if he let slip any vital information that Wilter could use to his advantage. He had to figure out a way out of here. But how? He was trapped. He had nowhere to go. And he doubted Mr. Wilter would let him go just because he asked. He could try to give him fake information but he wasn't sure if that would work. Wilter might be wise to his lying now and be able to pick it up.

Snap remained quiet. Despite the man glaring at him, being this close to him, those intense eyes at his face, he remained silent. He jerked his head free and looked away, gritting his teeth. He made it clear that he was not going to talk. He knows he might be hurt for this. He knows Mr. Wilter might try something on him. But he just couldn't give in like that. He had to resist telling this man anything. No matter what he did, no matter what he tried, he just could not tell Mr. Wilter anything. He wasn't sure how he was going to get out of this mess. He'll figure something out...somehow...

"Why don't you speak?" Mr. Wilter asked coldly. He adjusted the flashlight, bringing it closer to Snap's head. He watched, eyes narrowing, as Snap turned his head away, shutting his eyes as the bright light got close. "I know you can talk. You were speaking to me moments ago."

Snap still didn't talk. He looked up at Wilter with one half opened eye, teeth clenched. Except for an occasional whimper or two, Snap did not speak. He would love to try to talk back at him, to show defiance. But here, in the real world, with this teacher who 'hates cartoons', that might not be a good idea. He was at a disadvantage, stuck in a world where so many things could hurt him. If Mr. Wilter caught wind of that, he might...

"Speak!" Mr. Wilter snarled.

Snap let out a cry of surprise. He pushed himself back further into the chair, trying to keep away from the angry teacher. His heart began to race, pounding against his chest. He stared fearfully into Wilter's eyes. His mind raced with thoughts. What was Wilter going to do to him? That was a question that kept entering his head. It wouldn't leave him. He really had no idea just what this man would do to him. He wished he knew. Even if it was something terrible, knowing was better than not knowing. At least he could mentally prepare himself.

Sitting in this seat, shivering in front of this grumpy teacher, Snap cursed at himself mentally. Why did he have to wander off like that? Why did he have to come look at the stupid decorations? Yeah they were pretty, but they weren't worth getting lost and getting captured. He should have stopped Rudy and Penny. He should have stuck with them. He should have kept following them. He should have done any of those instead of just walking away to look at something.

Now here he was, strapped down in this teacher's house. Rudy and Penny had no idea where he was. He had no idea if he was ever going to get out of here. He was trapped, and it was his own fault. He shouldn't have wandered away from his friends. This world was dangerous for him. He was unsafe in the real world with all the hazards out there. He was so stupid to just walk away like that. He was now trapped and he had no idea how he was going to get out. He had no idea just what Mr. Wilter was willing to do to him to make him talk.

Mr. Wilter glared at him intently. Snap did his best to keep quiet. He tried to ignore the teacher's waning patience. He tried to ignore how angry he was getting. He tried instead to focus on his friends. He hoped they would find him soon. He hoped that some kind of clue was left outside. He wanted to get out of here. He wanted to be with his friends again. He wanted to be safe. Rudy and Penny were smart. They'd figure out what happened to him, he was certain. But..would they find out in time? He realized, in horror, the teacher couldn't have food or water for him if he had no magic chalk. The realization that he could die here even without the teacher lifting a finger horrified him.

Mr. Wilter slammed his fist against the chair, narrowly missing his arm. "You piece of chalk! Speak to me! What are you? Where do you come from? Tell me what I want to know!"

Snap opened his mouth. He quickly shut it. He narrowed his eyes very slightly. He gritted his teeth and then shook his head. He turned his head away, his gaze towards the ground. He just had to remain vigilant. He couldn't allow the teacher to get him to speak. Revealing anything about ChalkZone could be disastrous. Even small things could be weaponized, especially if Mr. Wilter was smart enough to know how to wield such information.

Mr. Wilter hissed and struck him in the head with the flashlight. Snap let out a cry of pain and lowered his head. He still refused to speak. He looked up at Mr. Wilter. He saw the flashlight raised again. It came down on him, this time on his arm. He hissed in pain, shutting his eyes. But he still kept his mouth shut. Mr. Wilter was already getting a little frustrated with him. Snap knew that he might get dangerous if he becames too flustered, but his top priority right now was making sure he did not get any information he could use to harm ChalkZone and zoners with.

"Filthy chalk thing!" Mr. Wilter growled. Snap winced at the insult and at the volume of the teacher's voice. Another hit, this time against his leg. "Talk! I swear, if you don't speak, I will find a way to make you talk, and believe me, if I have to resort to that, you will deeply regret not listening to me..." His voice was a low, threatening growl.

The places where Snap was struck ached with dull pain. Mr. Wilter hit him pretty hard. He was glad that he wasn't using too much force behind those hits. Mr. Wilter was larger than him, and if he hit with just enough force, he could cause a lot of damage. But Snap didn't know how long Wilter will be 'gentle' with his hits. Would he increase them the longer he didn't answer? Would he resort to doing something worse if he remained quiet?

Despite his fear of what might happen to him if he kept quiet, Snap refused to speak to the man. He stared into his eyes, gritting his teeth. He attempted to struggle a little. The ropes around him were tight, holding him down effectively. Wilter grew more and more agitated as time passed when he refused to speak. He had hit him again a few more times, a little harder than before. Snap's body ached more with pain, but he still kept quiet. ChalkZone would be in danger if he let himself give into Wilter's demands. If he had to be hurt in order to keep it secret, he was willing to do it.

Mr. Wilter gritted his teeth together. His grip on the flashlight tightened. Snap's fearful eyes looked at it, wondering if he was going to crack his skull open with it. He was relieved when Wilter lowered the light. He watched as he set it on the ground, the light pointing upwards. Snap winced as he saw all the dark shadows casted on Wilter's now green-tinted body. He moved closer to Snap, more so than he had before. Snap struggled in his seat to get away. Mr. Wilter put his hands on his shoulders and, without warning, put his face close to Snap's.

Snap let out low whines as Mr. Wilter's face was just an inch or so away from his. His cold, blue eyes studied him up and down. Snap's lips pressed tightly against each other, pursed, keeping himself from talking, even with this man's face so close. He pushed himself as far back as he could. Mr. Wilter's eyes narrowed further. He growled lowly, a snarl pulling back at his lips. Snap shivered at the look of pure contempt. He never had anyone look at him like this before. Even Skrawl's glares were calm compared to what he was getting here.

"So you won't talk..?" Mr. Wilter asked. His voice was strangely calm. Snap stared at him and shook his head. Mr. Wilter closed his eyes for a moment. He moved back, releasing Snap's shoulders. "Very well then."

Snap was confused when Mr. Wilter walked away. He watched as the man went out of his field of vision. He could hear the footsteps as they faded away. He thought, at first, that maybe Mr. Wilter was going to let him go. Maybe he realized that trying to make him talk wasn't going to work. A part of him knew it was never that easy and that he shouldn't get his hopes up. But there was another part that hoped this was the case. It would be the fastest way for him to reunite with his friends and get out of here unscathed.

Any amount of relief he felt disappeared when he heard the chains. A chill swept through his heart, his blood running cold. He turned his head, trying to see Mr. Wilter, what he was holding. Slowly, Mr. Wilter walked up to his left side. Snap looked over at him. Mr. Wilter held something in his hands. At first, he couldn't tell what he was holding. Then the teacher raised it up and soon Snap could see what it was. Green light reflected off of looping metal and he gasped. It was chains with a cuff at the end of it.

"I know I'll find a way to get you to speak. But for now, I'll take you to your room." Mr. Wilter said calmly. Snap was a little creeped out by how fast his anger disappeared. Or was he just masking it? He watched as Mr. Wilter lowered the cuff to his neck. "This chain will keep you from getting away."

Snap winced as he felt the cold metal squeeze against his throat. It was a little tight and he gagged on it. After Wilter fitted it on him, the man went around to untie his binds. Snap couldn't try to run. The man still had a hold of the chain. He remained still as Mr. Wilter untied all of the ropes that held him down. With a sharp yank, Snap was dragged forward. He nearly fell into the ground. Mr. Wilter caught up and held him up. After Snap regained his footing, the man gave another sharp pull, wordlessly telling him to follow. Having no choice, Snap did so.

Mr. Wilter lead him up the stairs. They soon entered the main floor of his house. He was taken down the hallway. At the end of it, to the right, there was a single door. Mr. Wilter reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. He unlocked the door and went inside, dragging Snap with him. He turned around and shut the door behind him. For a few seconds, it was pitch black. Then Snap heard a click and the light was suddenly on. He winced at first, adjusting to the brightness. Once his eyes got used to the light, he took a look around.

The room was largely empty, more so than the basement had been. There was a strange smell to this room. The walls looked very clean, and so did the floor. It was like this room was hardly used for anything. Maybe it was brand new or something. That odor did remind him of the 'new' smell, the unique scent brand new objects had when they weren't used that much yet. The room had light blue walls all around him, a tinge of grey. He could see a small window, complete with a dark-shaded curtain. A metal bar was hooked up to the wall.

Upon seeing the metal bar and the tiled floor, Snap realized that this must be the makings of some kind of bathroom. He looked around the room again as he was being dragged further into it and he saw a dotted line mark on the wall, indicating where either the toilet or the bathub would be hooked up to. This realization filled him with dread. Just how close would he be to real world water? And would he have to fear something breaking and him getting wet? His heart pounded heavily at the thought.

Mr. Wilter dragged Snap up towards the wall. Snap tripped and fell into the ground. He whimpered in pain as he was dragged across the ground. Mr. Wilter didn't bother helping him up this time. He just continued to pull the zoner, his grip on the chain like a vice. Once he reached the metal bar, he proceeded to hook up the other end to it. Once the cuff clicked in place, he tugged on it a few times. After he looked satisfied that the chain was not going to break under his weight, he turned to Snap.

"You will stay in here for a while. The chain will keep you from trying to escape. I will leave for a few hours, and you will remain here. I will come back later tonight to talk to you some more. Maybe a little bit of alone time will give you sone time to think about the consequences if you don't tell me what I want to know." Mr. Wilter said coolly.

Snap looked up at Mr. Wilter. He struggled to his feet. His body felt a little sore from being dragged across the ground. He glanced over at the chain, seeing it hooked around the metal rail. Even though the teacher already tested it, Snap attempted to make a few sharp pulls. Just as he suspected, there was no way he could yank this out. That wouldn't stop him from trying, though. He wasn't going to just sit around and take being chained to the wall like some kind of feral animal. He turned his attention back to Mr. Wilter, who still stood by him with that cold expression.

He found it hard to believe that this was Mr. Wilter. He had never done anything in the past before to indicate he was capable of this kind of behavior. Snap had to wonder...just what was it about him that frightens Mr. Wilter so much? He had met him before. Wilter knew that he was a perfectly civil 'chalk creature' as he would put it. So why was he treating him like some kind of wild animal that he found? Why was he so paranoid? Why did he need to chain him to the wall like this? What was he so afraid of?

He didn't know if he was going to get any answers from him. He might ignore anything he tried to ask, save for select questions he might not mind answering. Snap had no idea how long he was going to stay here. He had no idea what Mr. Wilter intended to do with him if he did tell him everything he wanted to know. Would he just let him go? Or would he hang onto him because he's a 'menace to society'? Would he try to put on a shock collar to try to control him? Possibly not. That seemed a bit extreme. But after what this man did to him today, would it really surprise him at all if he did something like that? He hook his head mentally. No..no it would not.

Snap felt dread rise in his heart as he looked around his current 'home'. An unfinished bathroom. Even though there was no toilet or shower or anything, even though there was really no way the real world water could get to him, just the thought of him being so close to the stuff frightened him. What if there was a leak and the real world water got in here? Trapped, he wouldn't be able to leave. What if Mr. Wilter decided to use the stuff on him in order to make him talk, or just to get rid of him?

He wished that Wilter had chosen some other place to chain him to besides here. He would even take a dingy old closet over this. Anywhere that wasn't close to real world water would be better. But he thought it best not to ask. He needed to try to keep quiet as much as he could. If he attempted to speak, even just one word, Mr. Wilter would try to pry more information from him. Plus, hinting to him that he doesn't like this room would prompt him to keep him there even more. Wilter looked like he wanted him to be uncomfortable so he could be more eager to speak. Snap couldn't let him get to him like that.

Mr. Wilter knelt down, going down onto one knee. He reached over and grabbed onto the chain. He yanked it hard, causing Snap to gag. The zoner was flattened on his back on the ground. He gritted his teeth in pain and looked up at the teacher. Though he was afraid, he still refused to say anything. Whether or not Mr. Wilter was trying to make him talk, he wasn't certain. But the teacher was not very happy with him, regardless. He shuddered under the man's cold glare.

"I do hope that some time alone will help you think about things, Snap. Maybe you will come to understand the need for me to have this information. If you fork it over willingly, then you would be allowed to leave." Wilter said. Snap responded by turning his head away. Wilter sighed. "Of course you'd respond like that. You just don't understand. Then again..." He grabbed Snap's head and forced him to look at him. "Could I really expect less from a chalk creature like you? You're not speaking because you're afraid your superiors will get upset at you. Understandable..."

Snap gave him a confused expression. Superiors? What was this man talking about? Did he really think that he was working for some higher up being in ChalkZone that was able to watch his every move? That was such a ridiculous idea. Sure, a lot of crazy shit happens in ChalkZone, but there were still limitations. What Mr. Wilter suggested just...wasn't even feasible. Yeah it was kind of possible with Spy Fly, but still...what Wilter was implying was ludicrous.

"However, I will get you to speak...one way or another.." Mr. Wilter released Snap and stood up. "I promise you that. Now, I'm going to get going now. I'll come back in three hous. Maybe three hours of being all alone, to think about the consequences will help you be more cooperative. Things would run more smoothly if you just cooperate with me, Snap." The zoner looked away. Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes. "Very well then. But I don't think you'll have that attitude later on." He turned around. "I'll see you in a couple of hours, Snap."

Snap watched as the grumpy man walked out of the room. The door slowly shut behind him. He heard a click and he knew that the door had been locked. A cautionary measure he was certain. If he were to break the chain by some miracle, he would have to contend with the door. Snap knew he didn't have the strength to break down the door anyway. And there was no way he could get thhis chain out of the metal thing. He was trapped here. Seeing nothing else he could do, he sat down on the ground.

He wondered how Rudy and Penny were going to find him. He didn't know if they would even find any clues. Even if he left blue smudges, which he doubt he did, that wouldn't be enough to tell them what happened. It would tell them where he was, but that was it. They might not connect them to him being kidnapped by their teacher. He felt so frustrated, so helpless. He wished he could contact his friends..somehow...

But he couldn't. He knows that beating himself up over wandering off wasn't going to help. But it kept entering his head, refusing to leave him alone. If he hadn't done something so stupid, he wouldn't be in this mess. He didn't mean to keep bringing it up in hsi head, but it was a very big mistake that he had made. A stupid one at that. He knew the dangers of wandering off alone and look at what it got him.

And now he had no way out of here. He was chained to a fucking wall for crying out loud. No matter how hard he pulled, no matter how much he tried to free himself, nothing was working. The cuff around his neck was too tight. It didn't choke him, thank goodness, but it still made it difficult for him to get it off his head. His round head was pretty larget. His leotard fit over his head fine due to being flexible. But this metal cuff? It wasn't going to work like that. He tried to pull on the chain again. He tugged on it hard, but to avail, just like before. He couldn't believe he got himself trapped.

Then, suddenly, a thought flashed in the back of his head. A realization swept over him like a tidal wave. There was something he had forgotten. He didn't know how he forgot. He just did. Why didn't he think of it before?

His 2D powers... In the real world, he had 2D powers...

Snap glanced down at the cuff that went around his neck. He laid himself on the ground. He licked his lips in determination. This had to work, it just had to. He closed his eyes and he flattened his body, turning into what looked like a living cut out. Using his now flat arms, he pushed against the cuff. His face folded inwards as the cuff slipped from his neck, over his head and then completely off.

Snap stood up and stared down at the cuff, now resting on the ground. He took in a few breaths, rubbing his somewhat sore neck. He felt relieved that the cuff wasn't around his neck anymore. That was one discomfort he wouldn't have to worry about again. At least it wasn't on too tight or hurt him that badly, though. If Mr. Wilter had made it too tight... He tried not to think about it. Right now, he had to focus on getting out of here.

He walked up to the door. He reached over and tested the door knob. Locked, just like he suspected it would be. He gave a small smirk. Now that his mind cleared itself up and he actually remembered what he could do, getting out of here was going to be easy. He still had to be careful, though. He couldn't afford to make mistakes.

Flattening himself again, Snap pushed himself under the door and soon he was on the other side. Wasting no time, he began to make his way through the teacher's house.

sss

Rudy wasn't in the mood to stay wtih the party anymore. Although his parents tried to coax him into staying down with him, he just wasn't in the mood for it. He wasn't very happy with them right now anyway. He...he needed sometime to himself. He ignored his parents calls as they tried to get him to speak to them. He just walked off and went up to his bedroom without saying a word.

He had talked to his folks about going outside in a little bit and walking around. They didn't want him to go back out. He had attempted to persuade them. He explained to them that he had lost something and he needed to go find it and that Penny was going to help him. He would have told them that he was looking for someone who was lost, which was true, but that might cause more problems. He had a feeling that it would make things just as difficult if he pulled the 'looking for something' card, and he turned out to be correct. His parents both believed it could wait until tomorrow.

Rudy tried to insist that it couldn't wat. He tried to get them to agree to let him out in the dark night. He understood their concerns. He understood that they didn't want anything to happen to him or Penny. But it was just around the neighborhood, which was generally safe. He wouldn't be gone that long...or so he hoped. He had no idea where Snap was. He could only hope that he was staying in one spot until they find him. If he were moving around, it would be a lot harder to find him. He wished he could go out now to look for him, but his parents just won't let him.

Penny had tried to back him up on it, but it wasn't good enough. Mrs. Sanchez and Tilly also agreed that they should stay inside now. It was dark out now and the adults were worried for their safety. No matter what Rudy and Penny said, it wasn't changing their minds. The adults were not allowing them back outside. The only time Penny would be allowed out was when her mom was going to take her back home. They couldn't sneak out either. Both the doors had at least one adult nearby.

Rudy was pretty mad at his folks. He usually wouldn't be this way. He does understand why they were worried, and normally he would concede. He'd be a little sore but it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, they were his parents and they were just looking out for him. Going out in the dark was not a smart move to make. He could get lost and though this was a safe neighborhood, something might still happen. Like whatever happened to Snap...

And that was why he was angry. This wasn't like before when nothing really important was on the line. This time, Snap was missing. He could be anywhere in the neighborhood...or was he even the neighborhood at all? Could he have been taken by someone? He had disappeared so fast and so quietly... He shuddered as different images played in the back of his mind. He hoped that Snap was okay. He had no idea of knowing if he was hurt, if he was pleading for help, or anything like that. He just had no fucking idea...and all because he didn't play close enough attention to him... He should have held onto Sanp. He should have made sure he was following him. He should have...

"Hey Rudy."

Rudy looked over in the doorway. He saw Penny standing there. "Hello, Penny." He replied solemnly. "I take it sitll no luck?"

Penny shook her head slowly. "No. I'm sorry Rudy. They won't let us leave."

Rudy let out a soft growl. "I'm not surprised..."

"Rudy...I know this setback is terrible, but..." Penny paused, thinking for a moment. "Well we can't let it put us in despair. We can look tomorrow. I'm sure Snap will be okay."

"How do you know?" Rudy asked, sounding a little more bitter than he had intended.

"Because he's a smart zoner. He knows enough of the real world how to keep himself out of danger." Penny said. She took a few steps towards Rudy, who sat on the window sill. "He'll be okay, Rudy. He's probably just waiting in some secluded place for us. Maybe he's hiding in that bush or something."

"Maybe..." Rudy wanted to sound more enthusiastic. But he just couldn't. Not after what happened today. Not while he had no idea what happened to his friend, where he could have gone. "I just...I just wish I kept a closer eye on him. Getting lost in the real world is dangerous. If it rains out tonight..." Rudy's voice trailed off, not wanting to continue.

Penny gave him a reassuring smile. She got closer and soon touched his shoulder. Rudy looked up at her, his eyes brimming with tears. "I understand, Rudy. I don't think Snap will get caught out in the rain, though. He knows better than to stay out in the open for long. He knows what the smell of approaching real world rain is like. As soon as he gets a whiff of that kind of smell, he would seek shelter."

Rudy wiped away a tear. "Yeah I know." He looked at his finger, noting the moisture on it from his tears. He looked over at Penny. "But what if he doesn't find shelter in time? There might be some places for him to hide, but there's not that many."

Penny smiled at him gently. "Snap is fast. He'd be able to move quickly enough." She sat down next to Rudy, putting herself close to him to comfort the boy. "There's a number of places for him to hide from the rain here. He'd be able to make it to one in time. He's pretty fast if he has to be." She looped an arm around him, pulling him close. "And please don't beat yourself up over this, okay Rudy? This wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known this would happen. Please don't feel bad. You'll see. We'll go searching for Snap tomorrow. We'll find him and he'll be okay. He's probably waiting for us right now."

Rudy gave a small smile. He did feel a little better. He still felt the horrible sting of guilt and despair, though. And he didn't think those feelings would go away anytime soon. He still felt like he let his best friend down. He should have kept a better eye on him. He should have made sure he was still following him. And now something like this had happened...The horrible guilt would cling to him for some time.

But Penny was right. Snap was a smart zoner and he knew how to keep out of trouble usually. He knew to be extra careful in the real world due to all the hazards around. He would know to keep out of sight during nightfall and especially if rain was approaching. There didn't seem to be any kind of storm or rain approaching tonight, but that could easily change. But though the thought still frightened him, he let Penny's soothing words enter his mind and help to calm him.

Yeah, Snap was okay. He was probably laying somewhere, like in a shed or something until daybreak. He and Penny could search first thing tomorrow. It was the weekend, no school. So that would give them plenty of time to look. Their parents wouldn't object to them being outside during daytime. They could retrace their steps and try to figure out where Snap's vanishing point was and go from there.

"It will be okay, Rudy." Penny whispered gently. Rudy noticed there were a few tears in her eyes. "It will be okay..."

Rudy looked at her and gave a bit of a wider smile. He leaned in closer and wrapped his arms around her. He needed comfort and she gave it to him. Now it was his turn to return the favor." "I know it will..." He spoke in a calm voice. He pushed his cheek against hers. "I know.." Penny returned the hug, the two of them sniffling as they cried out their emotions and stress.

When they parted, they began to discuss what their plan of action was going to be when tomorrow came.

sss

Snap moved along the hallway very slowly. He took small steps, being as quiet as he could. He looked left and right as he headed down, making sure Mr. Wilter was nowhere in sight. A few times, there was a very slight creak to his steps, making him stop and wince. Thankfully, they hadn't gotten the teacher's attention and he continued to move along. If he kept this up, he'd be out of here before the man would come back to check on him. If he can at least get out the door, he stood a chance.

The entrance of the house wasn't that far away. He was on the main level of the house, so he knew it would be easy to spot. The problem was getting there without being seen. He hadn't seen Mr. Wilter yet. But he knew that, if he slipped up, he might run into him again. He recalled how irrational the man acted to him before. He shuddered as he thought about how he might react when he finds him out of that locked room. He couldn't allow himself to get caught again. And getting out of the door, the front which was the closest, that was his best bet.

He thought about the windows, but all of them were closed tightly. He couldn't fit through them even in his 2D form. He could try to open them, but he feared he would make too much noise doing so. The front entrance, however, was a different story. Mr. Wilter had the thick door opened up, and the lighter door had a gap. Not much, but it would be enough for Snap to slip through. Getting to it won't be easy, with Mr. Wilter being anywhere in this house. But he would try. That was all he could do.

Further down the hallway he went, towards the living room. It was dark and he could hardly see. The light from the television was on. He could hear some faint voices, which he guessed was from the television itself. This bit of light provided enough illumination for him. He crept along slowly, keeping his body hunched forward almost in a crouch. He took care not to step on anything laying on the ground. None of the bits of garbage that Mr. Wilter hadn't cleaned up yet. It almost amused him; for a teacher obsessed with students following the rules, he certainly wasn't doing a good job with keeping himself orderly at home.

He soon started to pass by the living room. It was a fairly decently sized one, with a large television on a stand, a small couch, and a recliner. The couch was facing him and luckily there was no one in it. But the recliner was a different story. Though the recliner's back was to him, he could see a raised bump in the shadow of the piece of furniture, made noticeable by the pale light of the television. Snap realized that Mr. Wilter had come down here to watch some shows to pass the time.

Upon this realization, he started to move even slower, more cautiously. Every time he made the slightest sound, he would freeze and look over to make sure Mr. Wilter hadn't noticed it. Once he felt relief that he didn't hear him, he inched his way closer to the door. He was so close now. All he had to do was keep this up a little longer, just a little longer, and he would be home free. Even if Mr. Wilter spotted him once he reached the door, he just needed to use his 2D powers to slip under the door and run away. Mr. Wilter couldn't chase him down, not without drawing attention to himself.

As he got closer to the door, he felt excitement rise up inside of him. Soon, after he left this dreadful place, he could begin to look for Rudy and Penny. Maybe they were out looking for him now. Yeah, he bet as soon as he leaves, he'll see at least one of them walking down the street trying to find him. He hoped they wouldn't be too angry with him for wandering off. He knows that it was silly to think that. They were his friends and they would be glad that he was okay. They wouldn't go off on a rant, especially after he had alluded his captor. Still, it was a thought that kept entering his head, and he couldn't help but feel guilty for worrying his friends so much.

Oh well, at least that would all be fixed soon. He was a foot away from the door now, and getting closer. He looked over at the living room. The shape on the couch that he knew was Mr. Wilter, never once moved. Whatever was on television must have had the teacher so engrossed that he was unwilling to tear his eyes away from it. That was fine by Snap as it gave him the time he needed to get out of here.

Snap finally reached the door. He looked left and right, double checking to make sure no one was around. Then he looked down at the gap. He didn't waste any time. He closed his eyes and flattened his body. Once he was as flat as he could go, he dove down towards the opening. He fit his legs through first, then his waist, and now he was putting his arms through. Just a few more seconds and he would be out of this place...

But fate has a way of being cruel.

Just before his arms got halfway out, the larger door suddenly came forward. Snap's eyes widened and he tried to move faster. It didn't work and the door pushed up against him, bunching him up painfully against the ground. He let out a quick cry of pain at the suddenness of it and laid there with his eyes shut tightly and teeth gritted. He opened up one eye partway as he heard footsteps coming from around the door.

To his horror, there stood Mr. Wilter. Snap couldn't believe it. How had he gotten there so fast? Wasn't he over by the television a little while ago? Snap's eyes moved over to look at the chair. Much to his confusion, that lump he saw before was still there. But now, with the show on the television being brighter, he could see that what he saw wasn't Mr. Wilter, but instead a bunch of pillows that had been piled on top of each other.

"I see you fell for it, hook, line, and sinker." Mr. Wilter said, a smug smile on his face.

Snap's heart skipped a beat. This was all set up? Mr. Wilter had a feeling he was going to get out of that room? And he had set up the living room to make it look like he was watching some show, when in reality he was waiting patiently out of sight for him to get to the door? This was...intelligent. Creepily intelligent, especially for the teacher. Not that Mr. Wilter was stupid, but this was a move he would have expected someone like Terry Bouffant to pull. And strangely, right now, he kind of wished she was the one doing this, as he knew what to expect with her. Mr. Wilter? In this situation, an enigma.

Snap attempted to free himself. He tried to pull himself out from the door. Mr. Wilter pushed harder, getting him more stuck. Snap couldn't change back to his 3D form, not like this. He would break his bones if he did. But he can't pull himself free very well while in his 2D form. He was pretty much trapped with nowhere to go. He looked up, watching helplessly as Mr. Wilter lowered himself down to him.

"I admit, I had no idea if you would get out or not. But I didn't want to take the chance. So I decided to stay here and watch and see if you do come out. It was a good thing I did, otherwise you would have escaped." Mr. Wilter said in a calm, eerily calculating voice. "I couldn't have that, now could I? Not while I still have so much to discuss with you about." He reached over and grabbed Snap by one of his arms. "This would go so much smoother if you would just cooperate, Snap. But I guess that's too much to ask."

Snap was unable to stifle his cry of pain when Mr. Wilter painfully yanked him from the bottom of the door. Seconds later, taking full advantage of his 2D form, Mr. Wilter rolled him up like he was just a piece of news paper. His fist wrapped around his entire body and he squeezed it tightly. Snap let out a grunt of pain but tried his best not to scream loudly or throw up. Mr. Wilter looked down at him for a few seconds before making his way towards that room again. His grip tightened and Snaps nausaea from this kind of handling got worse.

Snap felt so stupid. How could he have fallen for that trap? How did he not foresee it? How did he underestimate Mr. Wilter? These questions and more swam through his mind. He wished he had paid close attention. If he had studied that shape on the recliner before, he would have realized it wasn't Mr. Wilter, but a stack of pillows. If he had gone a different way and use the back entrance, he might have stood a chance. Heck, he might have even stood a better chance opening the windows than try to use the front entrance.

Now there was nothing he could do. He could not return to his 3D form while folded up like this, with the man's hand tightly around him. All he could do was wait until he was released, and he knew he was not going to be released anywhere pleasant. It was hard to see much of anything with himself rolled up like this, but judging from the smells, he knew that he was fast approaching that bathroom in the works that he was trapped in before, and soon he heard the sound of the keys unlocking the door.

Now the smells were even stronger and he knew, even before he was unfolded, that he was in that room he was locked in before. Mr. Wilter shut the door behind him and took a few steps into the room. He gripped Snap by his head and he shook him once to unfold him. He then went over to where the chains were and knelt down beside them. Snap maintained the 2D form, knowing that Mr. Wilter could not chain him if he was cuffed.

Mr. Wilter picked up the chain and attempted to put it back on Snap. Like Snap predicted, it did not work. It kept slipping off of him, not able to keep a good hold on him. Mr. Wilter tried this a few times. Snap kept this up, hoping that, sooner or later, Mr. Wilter would get frustrated enough that his hold on him slips up and he could get free. Again and again, Mr. Wilter kept trying to hook him up. His neck, legs, arms, even his body, Mr. Wilter tried to fit the cuff around, but to no avail. But instead of getting frustrated like Snap thought he would, something else happened instead.

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" Mr. Wilter asked in a cool voice. Snap looked up at him in confusion. "Using your 2D form to try to keep yourself from being chained. Do you really think that is going to prevent me from finding away? Even to the most improbable situations, sometimes there are still answers, even if they are not always the smartest answers."

Snap was confused. What was this teacher talking about? Did he really think he had another way of keeping him chained to the metal railing? Snap couldn't help but give a small smirk of amusement at this. Mr. Wilter must be getting tired or something if he's starting to think that he has a chance of chaining him at all. He knew the guy was nuts, but this was the kind of nuts he did not expect from the man.

"But you see...I am not quite so stupid as you might think I am, Snap. I am a quick learner." Mr. Wilter said, his voice a little chillier than Snap had expected it to be. "Allow me to show you."

Mr. Wilter put his foot down on Snap's body, holding him against the ground. He then lifted up Snap's left arm, holding it tightly. He then positioned the cuff to it. Unlike before, Mr. Wilter didn't try to put the cuff around his arm. Instead, the tips touched around the middle of his arm. Cold horror swept through his body as Snap realized just what was about to happen.

Struggling, Snap broke his vow of silence. "No..please don't do it."

"Oh, so you can talk." Mr. Wilter said coldly. "Well I don't want to chat now. You'll just have to wait." Snap's eyes widened as Mr. Wilter lowered his head, his icy glare taking a hold of him. "In the meantime, why don't you sit here and..." His eyes widened and he suddenly snarled, "Relax!"

Mr. Wilter pressed down hard on the two ends of the cuff. It took little time for the teacher to force the two ends of the metal to slice through Snap's flat arm with a sickening crunch. Snap's eyes went wide, tears flowing down his face. A second later, his bloodcurding scream echoed through the room.


	3. Demand Of Answers

Pain...

Horrific, agonizing pain...

Snap's body wracked in agony. He trembled as he sat on the ground. No longer in his two dimensional form, he stared at his arm, his eyes wide in horror. He couldn't believe Mr. Wilter actually did this... Of all people, Mr. Wilter had done this to him. He never would have suspected that guy to do something so..cruel...

He looked up at the man, his eyes brimming with the question of 'why?'. Tears of pain and fear flowed down his face. His lower lip quivered as whimpers escaped his mouth. His arm shook hard, more so than the rest of his body. Around the middle of his forearm, the metal band went through, straight between the two bones that made up his arm. The metal hit against the bone, increasing the pain. Chalky blood dripped out of the wound.

Mr. Wilter's expression did change for a moment. He looked surprised, as if he didn't expect that to hurt him so badly. But the cold look returned, showing no sign of sympathy towards the zoner. He just glared at Snap was the blue zoner let out low whines of pain and distress. Snap continued to cry, gently cradling his left arm to his body, his tears dripping onto the arm. His low cries filled the room, and for a while, that was the only sound that could be heard. Giving a sniffle, suching in a shaky breath, Snap glanced back up at the man, silenlty wondering why he would do this to him.

Mr. Wilter's lip curled up in a slight snarl. "Don't look at me that way, you filthy little chalk creature. You brought that on yourself." His voice was icy cold. "You should have stayed put. You could have avoided this fate. But no matter.." He took a step forward and reached down towards Snap. The zoner cringed as Wilter lightly ran a few fingers along the chain before touching the cuff that cut into his flesh. "This will guarantee that you won't be able to get away."

Snap breathed in shakingly. "P-Please..." He squeaked in a barely audible voice. "G-Get this o-off me...I-I-I beg of you..."

Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes. He shook his head once. "I cannot do that, Snap." He turned to glance down at the arm. "I admit, I had no idea that it would hurt you this badly... But it's too late for that now. The cuff is in your arm, and there it shall stay." He looked back at Snap. "If I remove it, I will cause more damage and there'll be more blood loss. I don't want you dying, so I can't risk removing this. I do not know how to treat you and I am not letting you leave just yet. So for now, the cuff will stay in your arm."

Snap stared at Mr. Wilter in fear. He was glad that Mr. Wilter didn't plan on killing him, but leaving the cuff in here like this? That was just cruel... Though the man did have a point and that more damage might be caused if he removed it, leaving it in wasn't much better. Snap attempted to move his left arm a little, only to be wracked with horrific pain. He let out a scream and his body shook in pain. He looked at Mr. Wilter pleadingly, silently begging him to take the cuff off.

"But don't worry..." Mr. Wilter rose up to his feet. He stared down at Snap, his eyes softening, though his expression still stern. "I'll remove the cuff later. After I'm sure I tamed you, I'll take off the cuff... of course this is provided I know how to treat it." Snap stared at him with watery eyes, still pleading with him. "As I said, I don't want to kill you...if it can be avoided. I'll be returning to what I was doing before. You can stay here for a little while."

Snap shook his head. "No...p-please..." Wilter cocked an eyebrow. "Take this off me n-now... I-It hurts t-t-oo m-much..." He shut his eyes, letting his tears drain forth from them. He let out a soft soft, a shiver going up his spine. He reopened his eyes and he stared at Mr. Wilter. His vision was blurry. "Please...I beg of you...ta-take it off..."

Wilter stared at him for a moment and he shook his head. "No. I told you, removing it will only increase your pain, and the damage. I don't want you dead. If I did, I would have pushed that thing through your head or neck or something." Snap's eyes widened in horror at the thought of that. "You will have to manage until later. I'll be back within two hours to speak more to you."

Snap shook his head, his begging eyes wide. "No! Please! Take this off!" His voice raised in volume as desperation clung to his heart. His face glistened with his pain-filled tears. "I'll be good! I promise I'll be good! Just please take this off!"

The man stood there and stared at him. It seemed like he was contemplating his offer. Snap looked back at him, his body trembling in pain. He glanced down at his arm, wincing as he saw how the metal cut through his flesh and muscle. Pain radiated around the center and spread throug his arm. He looked back at Wilter. At first, it seemed like the man was going to take his offer, but then the man just turned and began to walk away.

"No." Mr. Wilter said, his voice stern. "I'll remove it when I feel you've been...domesticated enough. And when I find out how to access this world of yours.." Snap's eyes widened in horror. Mr. Wilter turned his head to give him a sideways glance. "I'm going to take a guess that any medication in the real world won't help you. So I assume I'll need to go your world to find something for you."

Snap was horrified by this. Mr. Wilter wanted access to ChalkZone? That was only going to lead to disaster. There was no doubt that he was going to spread word of it. Even if part of the reason was to find medicine for him, it was still a terrible idea to let him in there. There were so many thing that would and could go wrong if Mr. Wilter somehow got away into ChalkZone. His mind ran with thoughts of what could happen.

Was Mr. Wilter going to bring in an army of people there to exterminate zoners they deemed too dangerous? Were they going to find a way to trap the zoners and try to control them? Was he going to do what Vinnie and Terry wanted to do and exploit ChalkZone for his own gain? There were so many questions about this plaguing Snap's mind, his head starting to hurt. Snap wanted to beg him not to do it. He wanted to try to reason with him, try to make him understand why giving him access to ChalkZone was a bad idea, that he should just let him go now, but pain and shock ruled his mind, making him unable to speak.

Mr. Wilter gave the faintest of a smirk, but Snap was able to detect the creepiness of it, even through his tear-filled vision. "I'll find a way into your world at some point, Snap. I know you need medical attention and that world I'm sure has what you need, am I right?" Snap didn't answer. "And besides, I'll definitely need accessto that world if I...change my mind about you." The way he spoke the last five words was eerie.

"Ch-Change your mind?" Snap whimpered softly.

Mr. Wilter nodded his head. "Yes." Mr. Wilter walked back to Snap. He bent the front portion of his body down. He began to stroke the top of Snap's head. "Who knows? I might decide to keep you around as a...pet."

Snap widened his eyes and jerked his head away. "I-I'm not a pet!"

"If I decide to keep you, then you will become one." Mr. Wilter placed his hand under Snap's chin and grasped it. "You do not have a choice in the matter, Snap."

"I-I'm a person!" Snap shouted frantically. In addition to the pain, disgust also came. The fact that his man really saw him that lowly, that he would even treat him like he was a dog or a cat was disgusting and disturbing. "I shouldn't be t-treated this way!"

Mr. Wilter's eyes narrowed. "You're not a person, Snap. You are a drawing. So if I want you as a pet, then I will have you as a pet." He released Snap and took a few steps away. "But don't worry. I haven't decided yet if I'll keep you or not. Maybe you'll get lucky and I'll release you." He began to walk away again. He stopped by the door. "I'll be back in two hours." With that, Mr. Wilter opened up the door.

"Wait!" Snap cried. "Please don't leave! Get this thing off me! Please!" He reached his hand out, a pleading expression on his face. But Mr. Wilter ignored him and the door was slammed shut, leaving him all alone. Snap let out a soft whimper. "P-Please..."

Snap looked back down at the cuff attached to his arm. He had no way of getting out of here now. Even in his 2D form, he would not be able to get away. The cuff went through his arm. He could feel the coldness of the metal inside. If he tried to rip the cuff off in either form, it would tear through his flesh and horrifically injure his arm more. He was stuck wearing this until Mr. Wilter removed it. He couldn't believe that the man was cold enough to leave it in for the time being. And the fact that he saw him less than a person was unsettling, and making him his pet...

Snap wondered how he was going to get out of here now. With this cuff on, he couldn't slip out of the room. He had no means of contacting Rudy and Penny. His heart clenched as he thought of those two. He didn't know how they were going to find him now. He hoped that they would find some sort of clue, anything, that would lead them here. He knew he couldn't escape without their help. He hoped they would find him soon. Without chalk food and chalk water, he had very little time.

His eyes traced along the metal chain as it snaked up to the wall. He looked at the metal bar that it was attached to. He stood there, his eyes locked onto it, for several moments, contemplating what he should do. Though he knew it wasn't a good idea, he decided to try to pull the cuff from the metal railing. A last ditch effort to try to escape from this place. He grabbed onto the chain and began to pull hard.

He tugged a few times, pulling harder each time. His right arm tensed up, his muscles rippling, as he tried to get the metal chain to dislodge. He pulled with all his might againd and again. Something had to give. If he kept pulling, it eventually had to work. He just had to keep trying, pull with all his might.

But then, on the final pull, he made a mistake. A slip up, and he felt himself jerk to the side. All of a sudden, his left arm was yanked hard do the sudden shift. A horrific pain erupted from his arm. Snap's eyes widened and he let out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed off the walls of the room. He collapsed to the ground in absolute agony, staring at his damaged arm with tear-filled eyes. He tried to cradle his arm, but even the slightest touch sent horrific pain shockwaves through his arm, forcing him to move his hand away.

Snap laid on the ground, twisting and writhing, trying so hard to get away from the pain. Sobs wracked through his body, tears streaming down his face. He tried to do something, anything to get rid of the pain. But all he could do was wait for it to go away on its own. Eventually, the pain started to subside and he stopped writhing on the ground. The sharp pain, after about a minute or two, did go away, but a dull constant pain remained. He continued to cry softly, laying on the ground.

What did he do to deserve this? Why did Mr. Wilter do this to him? What would make him act this way? He never acted this way before... Snap was determined to find answers. He needed to know the truth of what was going on, but for now, his mind was too focused on the pain he was feeling. His arm..it hurt him so badly... He couldn't stop shaking in pain. He couldn't stop crying. It wasn't fair..it just wasn't fair...

Unable to get himself free, his mind still reeling from the horrible mistake he made and how he accidentally yanked his own arm, Snap curled up in a ball on the ground. He continued to cry softly, his tears stinging his reddened cheeks. He sniffled loudly and shut his eyes in a desperate attempt to block out the pain. He wished he could just fall asleep, but that would be impossible with the pain he was feeling. All he could do was hope that a miracle would happen and he would somehow fall asleep, Mr. Wilter would let him go, or his friends would find him. He hoped one of the two other options would happen soon...before it was too late. He was getting really thirsty now...

sss

Mr. Wilter sat on the chair in the living room. He stared at the muted television in front of him. He lazily flipped through the channels, not really paying much attention to what was one them. He had told Snap he had to do something, but in truth, he just needed some time to sort out his own thoughts and figure out his next plan of action. Well he supposed that counted as doing something, now that he thought about it.

Snap's actions were pretty lifelike, he had to admit. For something that was just a drawing, Snap was acting like any person would. So this proved one thing. His acting before, when he was pretending to be a foreign exchange student, wasn't just a shere luck thing he pulled off. Those realistic emotions extended even outside of that. Mr. Wilter was almost convinced that Snap really was capable of genuine dynamic emotion, but a part of him told him that he should still be wary. Snap could be trying to trick him into letting him free, so he had to do his best not to be too moved by however Snap is acting.

He was genuinely shocked at how much damage he had done with that cuff, though. He hadn't been trying to hurt the drawing that badly. He just needed a way to make sure he couldn't escape again. He predicted Snap had 2D powers based on what Terry mentioned, and the fact that Snap was a chalk drawing. He turned out to be right, and luckily he had stopped Snap from escaping. Punching the cuff through his arm seemed like the most logical thing to do to keep him from escaping.

But the damage that it caused, and the way he reacted... Wilter had nearly forgotten about Snap not being a person and he almost fell for it. Good thing he didn't. Despite Snap's realistic acting, he couldn't really tell if the drawing's emotions were genuine or not. He was certain the pain was, but the fear, he wasn't entirely sure of. He would be able to deduce if he's right or not over the course of the next few days.

He had felt conflicted when Snap desperately begged him to take the cuffs off. The way he sounded, it did seem like the cuffs were causing him a lot of pain. They were going straight through his arm after all. But Mr. Wilter couldn't remove them, not without risking more damage. He didn't really want to hurt Snap that badly, let alone kill him. Keeping the cuffs in place would ensure there isn't too much bleeding. Though other problems might arise, for now, the cuff had to stay in. He didn't even have anything proper to treat him with.

Gaining access to that world would help. He could enter it and get the proper medication to treat him. He didn't want Snap dying. He didn't want to kill him if it could be avoided. But mending Snap's wound isn't the only reason he wanted in that world. He wanted a permanent way in so he could investigate it himself. He wanted to see this world of chalk and see how dangerous it might be. He wanted to see if less violent measures can be implimented to keep the chalk creatures at bay and to control them if necessary. If more violent measures are required, he would take note.

Forthe time being, he wasn't going to tell anyone about the access to the chalk world, whenever he got it. Though tempting, he decided not to incorporate Vinnie or Terry into his plans. They were too hasty, too willing to jump right into the fray. He wanted to take things a little more slowly and cautiously. He would only bring someone else into this plan if he found that it was required, or if the drawings turned out to be too hostile and he needed backup. These potential menaces to society needed to be dealt with as soon as possible, before anyone could be hurt.

Mr. Wilter understood that he might be overreacting. Snap hadn't made an aggressive gesture towards him, after all. Then again, all that proved was Snap might not be a violent drawing. That would make him easier to tame. But others of his kind might not be as nonviolent. There could be some very dangerous ones out there. He had to be prepared. He couldn't allow himself to lower his guard. Not with these unknown creatures. He had to remain vigilant. Until he learned more about them, he'd have to deem them all a threat.

He remembered the wiggie incident. He remembered how those creatures had terrorized the city. Sure, they were ultimately harmless and just ate hair. But still, the town had been frightened by them, their sudden appearance, and how tenacious they were. There was no evidence to convince Wilter that there aren't some flesh-eating versions of these things that could kill any human they came across. There was nothing to suggest that none of these drawings would tear apart the city the first change they got. If these chalk beings were as varied as he assumed they might be, then it wasn't much of a stretch to assume that some of these things were dangerous.

That was one thing that was driving his behavior. The fear of the unknown. Even though he believed there might be a chance of this variance, he believed that it wasn't a good idea to let his guard down, because again, he didn't know these creatures that well and thus he couldn't really safely say if they were harmless or not. To him, they all had the potential of being menaces, terrorizing the city if they were to get loose there. Who knows? The creatures might even be capable of deceit. Who is to say Snap is as non-violent as he appeared? What if he turned out to be something akin to the boogie man, just waiting to come out at him in the night if he wasn't restrained?

His paranoia regarding Snap was made worse by the fact that he had to deal with some nightmares lately. Ever since he saw two of his own drawings seem to 'come to life' in his own home at night, and how they appeared to be ghosts and might have been haunting him for some time, he had grown a little more wary around chalk drawings. And knowing that what he saw was not an isolated incident, that chalk drawings really were alive, that kicked the fear part of him into overdrive. The unpredictable nature of these chalk beings, and the very fact that they are, somehow, alive, frightened him. This gave him a greater urge to control Snap by any means necessary. Him and the rest of his kind.

Though he wouldn't admit it, part of the reason for his behavior was pretty selfish and...well, personal. Although he had no evidence other than Snap being from this chalk world, he sort of blamed Snap in part of his humiliation at the police station, which had resulted in him being arrested for a while. He was certain that Snap had helped Rudy and Penny pull it off. His blood heated up at the horrible memories of being put behind bars, having people mock him for his outburst about 'people climbing out of the chalkboard'.

Seeing Snap reminded him even more of that. And, though he tried not to, sometimes his anger started to get the better of him. That was why he struck Snap, and why he so hastily put the cuff in him. He knew it was not fair and that he should control himself, but he always had a hard time controlling his anger to some extent in the past. And his lust for revenge was getting the better of him. As shocked as he was with how the cuff had hurt Snap, a part of him was twistingly satisfied with it. A part of him felt that Snap was finally getting retribution for helping to humiliate him in front of the law enforcement. A number of people thought he was a nutcase because of that incident. It did feel good to get some payback.

As he sat there, he started to think of ways he could control Snap better. He wondered if there was some foolproof way he could get any of these chalk creatures to do what they're told. A special mechanism of some kind. He would get the information from Snap, one way or another. He just had to be patient. Him getting hungry and thirsty might help make things easier. If Snap becomes desperate for a glass of water, he might be more willing to relinquish the information. Then again, that plan might be a little risky. If Snap died, there goes his chance of getting more information regarding this chalk world and these chalk creatures. His head swirled with thoughs as he tried to think of something he could use that wouldn't kill Snap but make him more likely to speak.

That wound on his arm might be of good use. He could yank the chain and cause him pain if he doesn't speak. Pain was a great motivator and it could force Snap to speak. But then...wouldn't that be taking it too far? He already kidnapped someone, or rather something since Snap wasn't really a person, just a drawing, and he had hurt him pretty badly, even if he didn't mean to. Despite Snap not being human, he did acknowledge, now more than ever, that he was at least alive. Could he really be so cruel as to purposely irritate his wound? Even if it did give him results, would it be fair to do that to him?

He furrowed his eyebrows, weighing his options. He didn't really have anything else to go on. And he did respond to pain. Snap did say that he would 'be good' if he took the cuff off of him.. Yes perhaps he could use it to his advantage. A part of him felt sickened that he was willing to cause pain to a living being. He then reminded himself that he was a chalk creature and not from this world. Should he really be feeling so much sympathy for someone who...in the end is pretty much an invader? Someone whom he didn't know much about, or his species? Someone who was a member of a species whose unknown factors could bring about a lot of problems? He had no idea what they were truly capable of. His mind was having a hard time wrapping itself around the concept of chalk being alive.

And besides, he could inflict pain on Snap without causing a lot of damage. A little tug on the chain wouldn't do much. It'll hurt, but it won't increase the damage that much, not if he was careful about it. And somehow, someway, he would find the weakness of these chalk creatures. He will find their achilles heel. Once he did, he could exploit that. He could use it against them if need be. He could help others prepare, if it ever came to that. With an unknown factor like these chalk creatures, methods of control were required. And once he found one for the chalk creatures, he would feel safer.

He glanced up at the clock. It was almost time to go speak to Snap again. He did say that would come back within an hour or two to speak more to him. It was a little late by this point and he was getting a little tired. But he didn't want to push off this talk until tomorrow. There was a reason he wanted to speak to Snap this late. He assumed he would be tired right now, too, and when the mind is tired, it is harder to think straight. Maybe Snap will be more cooperative when tired. It would be harder for him to come up with more of his elaborate lies when he's sleepy.

Although it wasn't time yet, he decided to head up now. Being early wouldn't hurt, plus the chalk creature would be expecting him around this time. As he turned off the television and headed towards the room he locked Snap in, he replayed in his head what he was going to do. Regardless of his previous reservations against it, he felt that using pain was the motivator, at least for now, was his best shot. He needed to get information from him fast before he dehydrated to death. He didn't want to end up with a dead body on his hands, even if that body belonged to a chalk creature.

He thought about also using the pain to 'domesticate' Snap, in a sense. If he could make him completely obedient to him, that would be great. A step in the right direction. If he could manage to tame Snap, to domesticate him to where he could theoretically be a pet, that did provide a tinge of hope that these chalk creatures could be dealt with without killing them. It was always nice to avoid barbaric measures whenever possible. But if Snap doesn't provide him with useful information, if he doesn't tell him anything that he could use to find a means of control, then he really did only have one choice after that. It was something he kind of hoped he didn't have to resort to, but if it came to that, then he would go with it.

He would find a way to destroy these chalk creatures. If methods of control can't be found, then there was just that solution. It was either control them or kill them. Killing was extreme and Wilter hoped he didn't have to go that way. Yet he understood that if he couldn't control them, then killing them was the sensible solution. After all, he had no idea what these creatures were capable of.

He would have time to figure things out. He'll speak with Snap for a while before heading off to bed. He'll sleep on the information given to him and decide the next course of action. He hoped that this night turns out to be eventful and informative. He saw Snap's door coming up. He paused for a moment, his mind again replaying what he was going to do. Then he proceeded to the room.

sss

Snap was curled up in a ball on the ground. He had been trying to get to sleep, hoping that the dreamworld would temporarily take away the pain he was feeling. But it was no use. There was no way he could sleep. Not like this. The pain in his arm was still strong as ever, the pain never dulling all that much. The constant ache spread through his arm, tormenting him so much that even sleep was deprived from him.

He wished that Mr. Wilter would have shown him some kindness and removed this cuff. He couldn't stand it. He needed it off of him. The pain sometimes got worse. Sometimes a shockwave of agony would spread through his arm. A few times he'd cry out in distress, the pain in his arm tormenting him so much. There had to be a way to get this thing off...yet he knew what would happen if he tried to remove it himself. His mind shuddered when he recalled how he yanked on the chain himself. That was a scarring experience and he was not going to allow himself to make such an awful mistake again.

He heard the door open up. He lifted up his head and looked over. As Mr. Wilter shut the door and began to head towards him, Snap had some thoughts move through his mind. He wondered if it really had been two hours or however long Wilter said. He hadn't really been paying attention to the itme, not like he could. He wondered what Mr. Wilter was going to do to him this time. As Mr. Wilter got close, Snap cringed a little, half expecting him to hurt him again.

"Hello, Snap." Mr. Wilter greeted.

Snap pushed himself up on his heads. He looked up at Wilter with a pain filled expression, wincing at the pain in his left arm. "P-Please take this off me..." He pleaded with Mr. Wilter. "I know y-you said that it could c-c-cause more damage...but please...r-remove it...Please..."

Mr. Wilter walked until he was a few feet in front of Snap. He stared down at him, his eyes a little cold. "You...really want the cuff off?"

Snap nodded his head feverishly. "Yeah...please..." He shut his eyes, tears strolling down his cheeks. "I-It hurts so mu-much...please..."

For a few moments, Mr. Wilter was silent. He stared at Snap, his eyes trailing along his arm, focusing on where the cuff cut into his limb. Then he looked down at Snap's face, noting the tears moving down them. Snap hoped that Mr. Wilter would listen to reason. He hoped that Mr. Wilter would see just how sincere he was being, how much pain he was in, and be merciful on him.

"...okay...I'll remove it." Mr. Wilter started to say. Snap's eyes brightened up at this. "Only if you give me the information I want." Snap's face faltered at this, his eyes widening a tad. This guy was seriously going to force him into an interview right now? "I'll ask you a few questions...you answer truthfully... and then maybe I'll remove the cuff."

Snap struggled up to his feet. He stared at Mr. Wilter in shock. He couldn't believe that he was going to force him to speak while he was in so much pain. Snap wasn't sure if he could think straight enough to answer any in depth questions. He whimpered softly as he looked down at his arm. Though there wasn't a lot of blood, he could see a little bruising now, and he knew that, sooner or later, it was going to get infected. Not from the metal, thankfully, but from his own clothes. The longer the cuff stayed in, the more serious the wound would get. Why couldn't Mr. Wilter see that? Or did he know and he was choosing to ignore it?

"Re-Remove the c-cuff..then I'll talk..." Snap offered, stammering his words painfully. "I-I promise I'll talk if you...get this thing out of my arm.."

Mr. Wilter cocked an eyebrow. "Or you'll use that chance to escape. Sorry Snap, but it's questions first. Plus I still wish to tame you. So I'll be doing that before I take the cuff off."

Snap's eyes widened at this. "B-But...please.." His cheeks glistened with tears. "D-Don't do this to me... I'm a per-person..not a pe-pet... Please...let me go. I beg of you..."

"If you didn't want to get caught, you should have stayed in your own world." Mr. Wilter said coldly. Snap looked at him in fear. He watched as the man walked over to the metal bar on the wall. His heart skipped a beat when he saw him grab the chain. It took him only seconds to know what was going to happen.

"If you think I'll go easy on you, think again." Mr. Wilter said, his hand gripping the chain tighter. Snap's heart raced as he saw the man's arm flex, threatening to pull. "You're just some chalk creature that invaded or world." Still holding onto the chain, the man lowered himself and grabbed Snap's chin. "I intend to get the truth from you, one way or another."

Snap jerked his head away, more tears of pain flowing down his face. "N-No...please... Y-You've go to u-understand..I..."

Mr. Wilter interrupted him. "I'll understand more if you answer my questions, filthy little chalk thing..."

Snap felt his heart racing. He had hoped that he could convince Mr. Wilter to take the cuff off of him to alleviate some of the pain. As he was now, his mind was so clouded with pain, he didn't think he could effectively lie or not. Despite saying he would talk to him, he had no intentions on speaking the truth, or at least nothing about how to get into ChalkZone. As much pain as he was in right now, as much as he didn't want to die, he couldn't risk allowing a new threat into ChalkZone. The secret of how to get into ChalkZone would die with him if he had to.

But with the pain he was feeling, he had no idea if he could pull this off or not. Mr. Wilter might cause him so much pain that he would accidentally slip out the truth, and in that case, he would have to either 'correct himself' in a manner that did not sound suspicious to Wilter, or he would have to hope that Wilter thinks he's too crazy and tries for another answer. He would be able to avoid it all together if he is able to concentrate more...but with this cuff in his arm, it won't be easy.

He wanted to try to argue more with this guy. He wanted to try harder to convince him to remove the cuff. The horrible pain spread through his arm, making it hard for him to concentrate. The look on Wilter's face told him enough. There was no way that he was going to remove the cuff, not until he got what he wanted. That hard expression, those narrowed eyes, it made Snap shiver, and he knew he had no choice but to abide by what he said. It looked as if Mr. Wilter was willing to do anything to get him to talk. He even freely admitted that he wasn't going to go easy on him. Without Rudy or Penny and chained to this wall, Snap had little to no defenses left. His only options were talk or die, either by Mr. Wilter's hands, accident or not, or through starvation and dehydration.

And he wasn't interested in dying right now.

Snap gave a soft sigh and lowered his head submissively. "All right then..." He looked up at Mr. Wilter. "Wh-What do you w-want to know...?"

Mr. Wilter stared down at Snap. He positioned himself, lowering to the ground until he sat right in front of Snap. He was positioned in a way that he could easily grab the chain if he wanted to. Snap gave a shudder as Mr. Wilter's eyes narrowed, the glint in his eyes showing. The eyes of a cold, calculating person... This was not something he expected to see from Mr. Wilter. He turned his head to the side to avoid the look, but he remained alert as best as he can. Unable to ignore the pain in his arm, he winced a few times.

Mr. Wilter said, "There are a few questions I'd like to ask of you. I want you to answer them to the best of your ability. After you answered them, I might consider getting the cuff off of you."

"Mi-Might?!" Snap cried, widening his eyes. He shook his head. "N-No...please not m-might... I thought you were g-g-going to take it off me if I..."

Mr. Wilter smirked somewhat coldly. "Well, Snap. I might change my mind. As I said, I might want you as my...pet." Snap looked at him, horrified. "But even if I don't, I might still need you later on. And you're hurt and removing the cuff might cause more damage."

"Th-That's because you put this d-damn thing in m-m-me..." Snap said, using a tone more bitter than he meant it to sound. He cringed back when Mr. Wilter growled softly at him. When Mr. Wilter raised his hand, thinking he was going to be struck, Snap put his hands out in front of him to shield himself. "No please!"

Mr. Wilter's expression softened up a little. "Relax. I wasn't going to hit you." His blue eyes settled on the cuff. For a moment, Snap thought he saw a flash of regret in those steely eyes of his. "And yes, it is true that I put the cuff in there. I didn't know it would hurt you this badly. But I can't take it out without risking more damage. Chalk or not, I don't want a dead body in my house."

"C-Can't you please remove it?" Snap asked in a soft voice. "Y-Y-You can use my c-c-cape and m-mask to stop the blee-bleeding and..."

Mr. Wilter slammed his hand into the ground, shocking Snap and causing him to move back quickly. Mr. Wilter was looking a little peeved. Snap had a feeling of why he was feeling this way, and it was confirmed in seconds. "No! Answer my fucking questions and then I'll consider treating you! The longer this goes on, the worse your wound will get, Snap! So if you want to feel any alleviation at all, answer my questions!"

Snap cringed back, shaking. Mr. Wilter had a lot of anger and venom in that sentence. He wondered what drove Mr. Wilter to do this. Was it paranoia? Did someone put him up to it? Was it vengeance? Was it all three? Was it something else? He knows this is not how Mr. Wilter usually acts, and seeing him like this was terrifying. If he could figure out the reason, he could try to pacify him, quell whatever anger, fear, and hate might be dwelling inside this man's mind right now.

Snap was amazed at how well he was thinking right now. The pain in his arm wasn't going away, constant and throbbing, yet he still managed to be aware enough and in control enough to carry a conversation with Mr. Wilter without completely breaking down. He wondered if it was, ironically, the fear. His mind was not focused as much on the pain as it was on his fear of Mr. Wilter. The saying 'scare them straight' might, in a small way, sort of apply here. Perhaps the fear he was feeling was giving his mind the boost it needed to think straight for this situation.

"O-Okay...g-g-o ahead..." Snap said, his voice pained. "A-Ask m-m-me..."

Mr. Wilter opened his mouth to speak, but then he paused. He leaned back and tapped his finger against his chin, his mind filled with contemplation. It looked as though he had no questions prepared, but Snap had a feeling he did and he was doing this just to prolong the tension. Snap waited several moments for Mr. Wilter to speak up. He remained quiet, afraid of what might happen if he interrupted Mr. Wilter.

Then Mr. Wilter looked back at him. He cleared his throat and then began to speak, making his first question quite clear.

"What are you?" Mr. Wilter asked.

Snap didn't waste time in answering. "I-I-I'm a z-z-zoner... As you already g-guessed, I a-a-am made of chalk."

"How are you alive if you are made of chalk?" That was Mr. Wilter's next question.

Snap had to pause for a moment on this one. He had to try his best to word his answers carefully as he did not want to accidentally invoke Mr. Wilter asking a more dangerous question. He wanted to avoid him asking the dreaded question 'how do you get into ChalkZone', because he wasn't sure how well he could cover that up. It would be difficult to just say 'I don't know', as him being in the real world meant there was a way, and he was certain Mr. Wilter would try to force him to answer.

When Mr. Wilter started to look a little angry at his lack of a response, Snap quickly said, "Ch-chalkboard... Anything d-d-drawn on the ch-chalkboard and e-erased becomes r-real in ChalkZone." Snap immediately regretted saying that when Mr. Wilter had a twinkle in his eye. "I-I..."

"So..that's how it works." Mr. Wilter said, nodding his head in understanding. "You really are a living drawing. Hmm...I had no idea that chalkboard were that...powerful." He furrowed his eyes as he seemed to let this information sink in. "That...could definitely prove to be a problem..." After a second, he added, "...or a solution..."

Snap shook his head. "N-N-No..please..y-you can't..." Mr. Wilter shot him a look. Snap froze, faltering for a bit. He then managed to get himself to continue. "Please..you have to understand... We z-zoners..we a-a-aren't going to hurt anybody in the r-real world..."

"Real world?" Mr. Wilter cut him off. "You mean where you are now?" Snap nodded his head. "And you...zoners... You know about the real world?"

Snap nodded his head a second time. "Y-Yeah..we do..." Noticing Mr. Wilter's glare, he quickly added, "B-But we don't have plans of i-invasion.. We like our h-home... I-It's a n-n-nice and colorful place. We have n-no reason to invade the r-r-real world."

"I see." Mr. Wilter said. Judging from the sound of his voice, Snap couldn't tell if he believed him or not. The man stared at him as he was thinking of his next question. It didn't take him too long. "Can you eat or drink anything in the real world? I suspect you can't, but I'd like to get a confirmation from you."

Snap shook his head. "N-No we can't.. Real world f-f-food would make us sick...and real world w-water would kill us..."

Snap realized what a horrible mistake it was to mention that when he saw the man's eyes twinkle again. A small smile appeared on his face, causing Snap to shudder. He had just exposed a major weakness of ChalkZone and the zoners, or at least confirmed it as Mr. Wilter admitted he had his suspicions about it. Now Mr. Wilter had knowledge of a way to make any zoner do whatever he wanted, if he should come in contact with them. Unless a zoner was particularly suicidal, the use of real world water would be profoundly effective.

Snap wanted to kick himself for revealing that bit of information. If he weren't in so much pain right now, he'd do exactly that. He should have been more careful with what he said. He could have just said that they couldn't get any nutrients from real world stuff, and it would have been satisfying enough. But no, he just had to say that real world water would kill them. He had given Mr. Wilter, a potential enemy, knowledge of how to kill a zoner quite efficiently. He shuddered as he thought of how the man could use that knowledge against him in particular. Would he resort to real world water to interrogate him further?

"Real world water... Looks like that is a powerful weapon that can be used against you... Thanks for that bit of information, Snap." Mr. Wilter said in a calm voice. "I'm sure that will come in handy. Now..for my final question, at least for now..." Mr. Wilter interlocked his fingers together and he leaned forward, staring intently at Snap. "How does one...access ChalkZone...?"

Snap gulped hard at this question. It was the dreaded question, the one that he hoped he wouldn't answer. He felt his heart beating faster now. What was he going to say? He wanted to lie. He had a thought in mind earlier of what he would say to this. But he had forgotten all about it. He could only stare at Mr. Wilter as his mind swirled with thoughts. His breathing quickened, causing Mr. Wilter to raise an eyebrow.

"Are you going to answer my question or not?" Mr. Wilter asked. Snap looked left and right, the look of fear in his eyes slowly intensifying. Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes and growled, "Answer the question, Snap...or else."

"I-I-I...you see..." Snap struggled to find something to say. If he let it slip about the magic chalk, then just what would Mr. Wilter do with that information? He'd try to get into ChalkZone...he couldn't do that... Desperate to spit out an answer, he said, "Th-There is n-no.."

"Don't fucking lie to me, filthy zoner!" Mr. Wilter snapped. He grabbed onto the chain, much to Snap's horror. "I am not going to be made the fool again!"

With that, Mr. Wilter yanked on the chain as hard as he could. Snap let out a bloodcurdling scream as pain erupted from his arm. He was pulled forward, hitting his chin against the hard ground, scraping it. He hardly paid attention to this as a torrent of pain flashed through his left arm. Then Mr. Wilter pulled it again, dragging him to the side. The pain intensified as the seconds passed, making it harder and harder for Snap to bear it.

Tears of pain streamed down his face. He tried to grab onto his arm, but it hurt so badly now, it was tender to the touch. Just lightly putting his hands on it was enough to make him recoil in agony. He looked up at Mr. Wilter with wide pleading eyes. The man gave him no look of sympathy and he was yanked a third time. Another scream of pain filled the room and now Snap laid on the ground. His body shook and wracked in pain. His stomach pressed against the cold, unforgiving floor and he sobbed hard.

"P-Please..s-stop..." Snap begged, his voice laced in agony.

"Stop your sniveling and answer my question, zoner!" Mr. Wilter growled at him.

Snap's mind reeled from the pain inflicted on him. Another yank from Mr. Wilter tore his thoughts away from him, replaced only with numbness and the fight or flight response. His heart pounding against his chest, he began to mindlessly fight back. He pulled away from the chains, writhing wildly on the ground. His eyes, big and wild, looked around, desperately trying to find a way to get out. He continued to writhe on the ground, pulling away from the chain, pain temporarily blinding him. His loud screams of pain bounced off the walls of the room.

Mr. Wilter tried to hold him still. He grabbed onto the zoner and held him down. Snap, so desperate now to get away, the pain overriding any rational thought, defended himself by biting onto Mr. Wilter's arm. The man let out a shout of pain. If Snap were thinking straight, he'd realize that this act may have landed him in deep trouble. But right now, he wasn't thinking of that. He kept biting on the arm as hard as he could, letting out screams of pain and whimpers of fear.

Mr. Wilter managed to pull his arm away. He looked at the damage and he snarled down at Snap. "Why you little chalk beast..."

In a split second, Mr. Wilter, out of blind anger, struck Snap, slamming his foot against his stomach. Snap was sent flying backwards. The chain tightened, pulling on his arm. Snap's eyes widened and he let out another bloodcurdling scream, tears streaming down his face. Intense pain shot up his arm, more so than it did before. Unimaginable pain swept through his body as he crashed into the ground.

He laid on the ground, whimpering and crying from the pain. He didn't bother looking at Mr. Wilter. He just cried. He tried to cradle his damaged arm, but it hurt too badly. He looked at it and he was horrifed to see that the injury now looked worse, with more blood flow apparent. The pain got worse, reaching levels that he found unbearable.

Then, after a few seconds, darkness began to descend upon him, and he passed out from the pain.


	4. Early Warning

Rudy sat quietly at the table. He stared down at the bowl of cereal sitting before him. He did eat a few bites, slowly, almost hesitantly. He couldn't stop thinking of what happened the other day. Getting to sleep at night was very hard. It was hard for him to sleep knowing that Snap might be in trouble. He had stayed awake for hours, unable to shut his eyes. And when he finally did get to sleep...

He shuddered as he thought about the horrible nightmare that plagued him. Not long after he had drifted off, he was in the grips of a bad dream. In said dream, he was running along what appeared to be a distorted version of his home street. Everything was black and red, and he saw Snap. He looked so frightened and scared... And then there was some large hand behind him. Snap had called out for him, reached out for him, and Rudy was unable to reach him before the hand just grabbed him.

Rudy had run after him, crying out his name. The hand just dragged Snap way. The panicked zoner had tried to escape, scraping his hands along the ground. But it was useless. And before long, Snap was yanked back towards what looked like a tall, warped house. The house just...swallowed him whole, and Rudy could hear the crunching sound as Snap's bones were broken into pieces. Rudy had fallen onto his knees, staring in absolute disbelief. Then he howled in anguish before collapsing on the ground in a sobbing heap.

That was when he woke up. As he opened up his eyes, he could feel tears leaking out. He could feel that his pillow was drenched in his tears and mucous. He sat up in his bed and looked around. He took in a few quick breaths, trying to calm himself down. It was just a bad dream...it was just a bad dream. He was so relieved...but still so frightened. That was a horrible dream. He hoped with all his might that Snap wasn't in danger, that Penny was right and that he was just hunkered down somewhere. Yeah, they'd go find him later today and he'll be there, waiting for him.

He hadn't told his parents about the nightmare, and he tried his best to hide his negativity. He wasn't sure what he could say to them. He was too distraught to really think of any kind of clever lie. His mind was so muddled with thoughts of what happened the other night that he just couldn't really focus. Luckily, he had been able to keep up a pretty good act so far...but he had a feeling his luck would run out soon. He could only hope that, once one of his parents says something, he would be able to think of a convincing lie.

He thought back to the dream. Such a twisted and sick dream...but as he took another bite of his cereal, he began to wonder if it was trying to tell him something. He wasn't one to believe too much in prophetic dreams, but he couldn't deny the inspiration dreams can give, and what happened in the dream, despite how messed up and exaggerated it was, like the giant hand, something like that could have happened. He hoped something like that didn't happen, but he couldn't just deny the possibility just to make himself feel better. That would not only be wrong, but dangerous. What if Snap was in that kind of danger?

What if Snap was...kidnapped? That was a thought that crossed his mind before. And now the dream was making him bring that idea back to the forefront of his thoughts. There was a possibility that Snap had been kidnapped and that he might be somewhere in the neighborhood. He had little to go on and he couldn't run around accusing people of anything. And it wasn't like the dream was a reliable source. Even if he could recognize the street names in the dream itself, that didn't mean that was exactly where Snap was. They would need to investigate.

Rudy's first thought was to search down the street they trick-or-treated on. That would be a good place to start. It would help if he knew exactly when Snap vanished, but he hadn't heard a peep out of him since they started walking back. It could be anywhere on that street he vanished, or even on the next street. That was a lot of places for him and Penny to look. He hoped that they would be able to comb through these areas and find clues in time to save Snap, if he were in any kind of danger.

He thought about that bush they passed by before. He knew it had enough space for someone to climb into. Perhaps that was a point where Snap could have vanished. It would have been strange, though, that the potential kidnapper would use this bush and not make any noises. Snap couldn't even get in there without shaking the needles a little. Rudy decided that the bushes weren't a likely spot for Snap to get lost in or for a kidnapper to use as his striking point. So that did cross one thing off the list..but there were still other possibilities to consider.

He recalled that the time that he and his friends headed back to his place was during the tail end of the trick-or-treating. It was still going on, but there were so few people out. The street they were on, both on his own home street and the one next to it, was largely devoid of people, at least compared to the start of it all. Most people would be indoors, watching television or hanging out with friends, having fun. They wouldn't be staring out the window so much.

It would have been a perfect time to strike...

What Rudy still couldn't understand is..how did the kidnapper, if there was one, get to Snap without him and Penny noticing? He tried to think of possibilities, such as silent walking, but..no that didn't make sense. Despite the cover of darkness, despite there not being a lot of people, if a man or woman were walking up to a group of children, someone was bound to notice. And they would have heard the person's footsteps as they fled.

Perhaps he should bring the idea up to Penny. She might have an idea. She was always good at coming up with theories and ideas. He could explain his thoughts to her and see what she says. She should be here soon. She promised she'd be over after breakfast. He guessed she'd be here in a few minutes. Knowing that his friend would be here shortly, Rudy started to eat a little more quickly so he could finish up breakfast in time.

He took notice of his mom walking in. She looked down at him, a concerned expression on her face. He stared at her, his mouth full of food. Then he slowly swallowed, not taking her eyes off of her. Why was she looking at him like this? Had he not been as convincing as he thought?

"Is something wrong, dear?" Mrs. Tabootie asked.

Rudy tried hard not to flinch at this. So his acting hadn't been fool proof. His parents, or at least his mom, had noticed something off about him. What was he going to tell her in response? There she was, waiting for a reply. He couldn't just keep quiet, or she would get even more worried. His mind raced with thoughts as he tried to think of something to tell her that wouldn't sound too worrying. There was only one thing he could think of, and he hoped that she would just leave it at that.

"I just..had a bad dream." Rudy said. He didn't want to mention the dream, but it was the only thing he could think of to say without it being too serious. After all, bad dreams were just bad dreams. "That's all."

His mother looked at him. She still looked worried, but she did have a relieved expression on her face. She smiled at him gently and walked closer to him. "Well if that's all it was...I'm glad to hear that you're okay. You seemed so pale when you came out of bed, and you haven't eaten too much. I thought you had fallen ill." As if to convince herself, his mom put the back of her hand on his forehead. "No, you feel fine."

Rudy gently pushed his mother's hand away. "Yeah, I'm fine." He took a few more bites of his cereal. "Hey, is Penny here yet?"

Mrs. Tabootie shook her head. "Sorry, Rudy. She's not here, but I imagine she will be very soon." She paused for a moment. "Just..where are you two going again?"

Rudy said, "We're just going for a walk down the street. It's such a nice day out."

Mrs. Tabootie cocked an eyebrow. "Rudy, there's a chilly wind."

Rudy realized he hadn't really been paying attention to the weather. He turned his head to look out the window. He took notice of what his mom was talking about. There was a wind blowing, swaying the trees a little. It didn't appear to be a strong wind, at least. But his mom did say it was chilly. He probably should have looked outside before he told his mom about how 'nice' it was outside. It wasn't the worst weather, but a cold wind constantly blowing isn't exactly what he felt qualified as 'nice weather'. He made a mental note to himself to put on his jacket before they headed out.

His mind drifted to Snap. He hoped that, if Snap were outside, he found some kind of shelter from the weather. He wasn't sure of all the places he could go, but he was certain there was at least one place nearby that would have enabled him to hide from the strong wind, and rain, too, if there was going to be any. If someone captured him, he hoped that person at least had the decency of keeping Snap indoors during bad weather, and not just keep him tied up outside and exposed. On the one hand, that would make him easier to find. But on the other, it meant that Snap was exposed to the elements, and that wasn't a good thing in the real world.

Realizing that he hadn't said anything more to his mother, and seeing that she was waiting for some kind of reply, Rudy snapped himself out of his thoughts. He looked at her and smiled the best he could. He quickly said, "It's nice enough I mean. No rain."

His mother stared at him, then slowly nodded her head. "Well take an umbrella at least."

Rudy felt a clench in his heart. "Wh-Why?"

"I don't see what the big deal is. You might not even need it." His mother replied as she headed towards the sink to do the dishes. "The weather channel called for a potential rainstorm today. It's not supposed to start until around noon, but you know how inaccurate these weather forecasts can be."

Rudy stared at her blankly, his mind numb. He forced himself to answer her. "Yeah..." After a few more seconds, he added, "I'll make sure to bring an umbrella then."

"Good." Mrs. Tabootie said, smiling gently at her son. "If Penny forgot to bring hers, you can take the spare and let her use it. Just make sure to bring it back when you two are done walking."

"Okay, mom." Rudy said before falling silent, staring at his cereal bowl.

Rain...of all the things...why did it have to be rain? The horrible thought weighed down heavily on his mind. He could feel his blood chilling from the terrible realization that it might rain while they're out there. If Snap were caught in the rain...he would die. As Penny said, he was a smart zoner, but if he was too slow, if the rain came too fast, if the kidnapper left him outside or a not-so-well insulated area..and the rain hit him...

He had seen that happened what a zoner was dissolved. He still had that horrible image of what happened to Howy when Reggie's dog licked him. It was a bone chilling sight, and what made it worse is that Howy could still talk for a while. The way he called out in shock and terror, the way he slowly dissolved like that, and then into nothingness... Even though he turned out to be alive in the end, the memory of that still haunted him. And knowing that it could be Snap's fate...

Rudy tried not to think about it. He tried not to let the images of a dissolving Snap enter his mind. He tried to focus on finding him, because that's all he could do. He could worry all he wanted to, but that was not going to solve anything. It wasn't going to help him find Snap. He had to assume Snap was still alive and he had to try to find him. He couldn't just sit here and do nothing, not like he and Penny planned on that anyway. As soon as she got here, they were going to go look for their friend.

As soon as Rudy finished his cereal, he heard a knock on the door. He knew instantly who it was. He got up from his seat quickly, nearly knocking over his bowl. He rushed over to the door to greet Penny. But his dad was already there. Rudy stumbled and skidded to a stop before he rammed into his father. He watched as his dad opened up the door, and just like he thought, there was Penny standing there, giving a smile to his dad.

"Hello there, Penny." Mr. Tabootie greeted the girl, putting on a big smile.

"Hello, Mr. Tabootie." Penny replied. "Is Rudy available?"

Mr. Tabootie nodded his head. "He sure is. He's been expecting you. Hey Rudy..." The man turned around to find Rudy, only to see he was standing right behind him. His dad looked a little surprised at first, but quickly settled down. "Oh! There you are!" He waved his hand towards Penny. "Penny's here to see you."

Rudy nodded his head. He would have said he already knew that, but he decided not to. He gave a smile to Penny and gestured her to come in. She did so, wiping her feet on the carpet before she went further into the house. Rudy felt some sense of comfort knowing that Penny was here now. It meant that they would soon be starting to look for Snap. And the sooner they did that, the sooner they could be reunited with him, provided that nothing serious happened.

Before they headed out, thoug, he wanted to speak to Penny in private. Discussing about Snap would not be a good idea out in the open, since they could mention things about ChalkZone and someone might overhear them. Best to head into his bedroom and speak there first, and also come up with a plan of action there before they haded out. It was better to at least have some kind of plan and not just walk out on the streets with no idea what they were going to do.

He and Penny headed up into his bedroom. Once they were in, he shut the door behind him to make sure that his parents didn't overhear them. His parents generally respected his privacy, so they weren't going to barge into his room, usually anyway. He then moved towards the window sill, his favorite place to sit down with Penny and chat. It also provided a good view of outside, enabling him and his friend to see what it was like outside. So far, it only seemed windy, but he thought he noticed some dark clouds in the horizon. Kinda hard to tell with all the trees and buildings, but there might be a chance of rain after all.

As he and Penny settled next to each other on the window sill, Rudy cleared his throat and began to speak. "Penny, I need to talk to you about something." Penny looked over at Rudy, wearing a confused expression. He quickly added, "It's about Snap."

Penny nodded her head. "Go on."

Rudy paused for a moment. He wasn't entirely comfortable talking about his dream with her. It was possible they could start this search without bringing it up. But in order for him to properly convey what he was trying to ask of her, he would need to tell her about it. No matter how unnerving it was to think about, he needed to tell her. He couldn't just keep this a secret. Besides, he had to tell someone about this dream. It was so horrifying... And Penny was the only person he could really talk to in regards to ChalkZone.

"I had a bad dream last night." Rudy started to say. He looked to Penny. She gave him an understanding expression and used a wave of her hand to signal for him to continue. "In the dream, I was...trying to get Snap and he was being chased by this large hand..." Penny's eyes widened at this. "I tried to save him, but the hand grabbed him and it dragged him off to some house... and there was some crunching sounds..it was horrible..." Rudy shuddered at the thought. "I woke up after that."

Penny had her hand to her mouth, looking at Rudy in horror. "That was some bad dream..."

"Yeah it was..." Rudy said, recalling the nightmare in detail. "It was horrible."

Penny reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. She looked at him sympathetically. "At least it was only a dream..." She paused for a moment. Her expression shifted to confusion. "Why did you want to talk to me about that?"

"Because, Penny, I think there's a chance that...it could be what happened to Snap." Rudy replied.

Penny stared at him blankly. "Rudy, I don't think giant hands are logical in the real world. Maybe in ChalkZone..." She raised her hands up and gestured with them to indicate everything around them. "But..." She shook her head. "..not in the real world."

"I didn't mean literally." Rudy said. He felt a little embarrassed that he wasn't being clear enough with her. "I meant that...he was captured." Penny's expression changed back to worry. Rudy lowered his gaze towards the ground. "I mean...someone might have grabbed Snap and dragged him away. They could have silenced him so he couldn't scream, and they could have taken him to some house." He looked back at Penny. "He might be in one of the neighbors' houses here."

Penny bit her lip. "It does...seem possible that someone grabbed him.. But..." She sighed. "I'm just not sure exactly when they would have had a chance." She turned her gaze down as her mind filled with thoughts. "It would be hard to sneak up behind someone and just grab them without anyone noticing. Though there wasn't a lot of people out when we went back, someone would have noticed a person coming up to us to take Snap. They would have said something."

Rudy nodded. Those were more or less the same thoughts he was thinking earlier. It would have been hard..no, impossible..for someone to sneak up behind them and just grab Snap like that. There would have been too much noise, or at least enough to give the person away. Someone would have noticed it. They would have seen the person's shadow at least casting over them as the kidnapper approached. It didn't seem possible that a kidnapper was involved. It would have required an insane amount of effort to avoid getting caught, and that would have been time consuming.

But he wasn't about to throw this idea out of the window. Not yet. There was still a chance that a kidnapper was involved in this. There might have been a way they could have taken Snap without them noticing. Something that was silent. Something that they wouldn't have noticed until it was too late. But what? He had tried to think of ideas, yet his mind would only draw a blank. He hoped that Penny would have some kind of clue.

"Do you know of any way a kidnapper could grab Snap and flee without us hearing?" Rudy asked. "Let's think for a moment. Let's say that it did happen. How would the kidnapper go about it without drawing attention to himself or herself?"

Penny narrowed her eyes and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I can't really think of anything, except..." Suddenly her eyes snapped wide open. She stared at Rudy and he could see the realization glowing in her eyes. "Rudy! I just remembered!"

"What?" Rudy asked anxiously.

"Do you remember when Snap was flung into the real world for the first time?" Penny asked. Rudy nodded his head swiftly. How could he possibly forget that? "Well I took him outside and told him to wait there until I came back. But as soon as I started to run, I could hear him go 'hey what's that' and heard him running off." She went quiet, letting Rudy allow this small bit of information sink in. "I'm certain that something in the real world caught his interest at that time, and he just..bolted off towards it."

Rudy's eyes slowly widened. The realization struck him hard. Snap was a curious zoner, like a little kid...because he was one. He was prone to suddenly wandering off when something caught his eye. Sometimes he did it without thinking about it. He had thought about him wandering off before, but that was just a wild guess. Now..he was certain that may have been what happened. Maybe he did run off...and that's when the kidnapper would have...

"That...that would explain it..." Rudy said in as soft voice.

Penny nodded her head in agreement. "It certainly would. If Snap saw something that caught his attention, he may have walked away from us without telling us. He could have gotten lost, depending on how far he wandered. He's not that familiar with the real world, so I can see that happening."

Rudy nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Me, too."

Penny continued. "He could have tried to look for us, but for how long, I'm not certain."

"And then at some point after he wandered off..." Rudy added, letting the potential pieces of the puzzle start to come together. "He could have been grabbed by someone... He could have went someplace where there weren't a lot of people, somewhere far enough away from us... Snap could have been grabbed without us hearing about it..."

"Then the kidnapper would have silenced him somehow, maybe hit him with a rock, and drag him off." Penny concluded grimly.

The two friends stared at each other. The horrific realization of what may have happened hit them both like a freight train. They still weren't certain if this is what really happened. It was still just a guess. But it was the only plausible theory they could come up with that would account for everything. Why they didn't hear Snap getting grabbed...why Snap would wander off, but then never call out to them when he got lost... Yes, this might have been what happened.

Now that they had an idea of what may have happened to Snap, they next needed to figure out a plan. They would need to perform a search of the area. They would need to do so as quickly as they could and without drawing attention. It would help them if they could think of a point where Snap could have disappeared... But maybe that wouldn't be so hard. Rudy and Penny both knew Snap well. They could simply walk down the two streets and look for something that they knew would catch Snap's eye, and search those areas.

Rudy spoke up after a few moments of silence.

"Let's work out a plan." Rudy said. "And then let's go find him."

Penny nodded her head. "Good idea." She noted the worried look in his eyes. She grabbed onto his hand, squeezing it gently. "We'll find him." Her voice was as reassuring as she could make it sound.

Rudy turned to her and smiled as best as he could. "Yeah...I know we will."

sss

When Snap woke up, he was all alone. He was confused, and tried to remember what happened. For a few moments, he didn't recognize where he was, how he got here, or anything. His mind was just a blur. However, it took just seconds for his mind to be bombarded with memories the moment that pain began to register in his arm. He flinched, tears forming in his eyes, as he glanced down at his arm. His heart pounded at the sight of the metal cuff still cutting mercilessly into his arm, and in that moment, he remembered what happened earlier.

Mr. Wilter had came in to interrogate him. He had forced some information out of him with the promise of getting the cuff out of his arm. Of course that was a lie. He told him what he wanted to know, and the cuff was still in his arm... Oh wait, he said 'maybe'. He forgot about that. And wait... He didn't tell him everything. Now it was coming back to him. Snap recalled how Mr. Wilter tried to get him to tell him about a way into ChalkZone, and he didn't tell him, then...

Snap whimpered as a wave of pain shot up and down his arm. He clutched it, only to cry and let go. His arm hurt so badly.. And the pain had only gotten worse. Mr. Wilter...he had pulled on the chain, making him hurt so much. He had caused some additional damage to his already mangled arm. Why? What did he do to deserve this? Why won't Mr. Wilter remove the cuff? Can't he see it's causing him real pain?

Apparently not. Snap recalled how mercilessly the man had pulled on the chain, irritating his wound on purpose in hopes of making him talk. The pain, it was so bad that he had passed out. He had never been in that much pain before. For now, it had died down a little, but his arm still throbbed in agony. The longer this cuff was in his arm, the more pain it would cause, the more damage would be dealt. He needed to get it off. He needed to, somehow, remove the cuff himself. But how could he accomplish that? And how much additional damage would he cause himself by removing it?

Mr. Wilter, in spite of how crazy he was being, was right about one thing. He couldn't remove the cuff here without causing more damage, and especially not without having the proper tools. There was no chalk medicine here. Snap would have no way of treating the wound for infection. He would have no medication he could take to help with the pain. That was all in ChalkZone. Perhaps...perhaps he should...

Snap shook his head. No, he couldn't do that. He couldn't give away more information regarding ChalkZone. He couldn't betray the other zoners. He was not going to allow Mr. Wilter to get into ChalkZone. As much pain he was in, he would rather be in this pain than let ChalkZone fall in the hands of a clear madman. He would rather rip the cuff of now and stumble through the neighborhood, bleeding, searching for Rudy, than give vital information to Mr. Wilter. He couldn't afford to tell him anything more. He had already made the horrendous mistake of giving away two big pieces of information.

He had told Wilter about the real world water weakness, and he had told him about how ChalkZone worked, with the drawing and erasing... And now that man could use both of those to his advantage. Snap couldn't believe he told him those things. Of all the information he could have slipped out...it had to be those two things. Mr. Wilter might not have access to ChalkZone...but he can still cause a lot of damage.

Knowing that things erased become real in this world, what's to stop this man from drawing something really dangerous to capture zoners? Destroy large sections of the place? What's to stop him from, oh say, drawing a horrific tornado designed to cause as much wreckage as possible? What would prevent him from drawing his own army of loyal zoners to wreak havoc, or try to find him a way into that world, or whatever else would come to mind? Snap wasn't sure if Mr. Wilter had a chalkboard at home. But he certainly did at school, and that was enough to be of alarm.

And the real world water... Mr. Wilter, if he got into ChalkZone, he could use that water to kill zoners, cause destruction himself. He could use it to control the zoners and force them to bend to his whim. He could send people into ChalkZone with a hose to erase everything if he becomes paranoid enough. He could cause the death of many zoners. It doesn't take much water to kill a zoner. Even the biggest and mightiest zoners would fall victim to real world water. It was like acid to them. It burned...it hurt so much..and it caused them to 'melt' in a sense.

Then there was the possibility of Mr. Wilter using the real world water on him. He now knew what kind of damage it would cause him. Though Mr. Wilter said he didn't want to kill him, that didn't mean he wouldn't get a water bottle and spray him with it, cause him more pain. He already showed he was capable of hurting him horrifically. He proved that with the cuff and the interrogation. There was little reason to think that Mr. Wilter wouldn't use real world water as another means of hurting him to get him to talk. Snap shuddered at the thought of the man coming into the bathroom with real world water, ready to interrogate him further...

Snap knew that Mr. Wilter was not going to give up on that information so easily. He wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. He was going to find a way to make him tell him about magic chalk, the gateway into ChalkZone. There was no way he'd give up just like that. He was going to come in at some point to try to get that information from him. Mr. Wilter was determined to get access to ChalkZone, and Snap had a feeling he was going to do whatever it took to make him talk. Snap just needed to try to stay strong and resist, no matter what happened.

ChalkZone was counting on him. He couldn't let the information slip out. He had to keep Wilter in the dark as much as possible. He had to protect ChalkZone from this threat. Rudy and Penny didn't know... Nobody in ChalkZone knew... Only he did. He was the only one who knew something of this guy's plans. So it was up to him to keep ChalkZone safe from this menace.

As Snap sat in the unfinished bathroom, he took a look around. He looked up at the window. He took notice of how light it was compared to before. He realized that it was morning. He was confused. Had time really went by that fast? He must have been in worse pain than he thought, if he passed out until morning. Though faint, he could hear the sounds of birds chirping, and it caused a pang to rise in his stomach. He wished he could go outside. He wished he could go home. He really wanted to go home...

He felt a growl in his stomach. His throat was a little dry. He smacked his lips a few times, realizing how little saliva there was in his mouth than usual. He was thirstier than he was yesterday. He was starting to get really hungry. Around this time was when he had breakfast. The thought of it made him lick his lips slowly as he imagined going into the Candycane Forest with Blocky and getting something to eat there. Yes, some pancakes and fried eggs and bacon...that all sounded so good right now...

Snap shook his head. He needed to try not to think about food for however long he could. The more he thought about food, the hungrier he'd get. He needed to try to focus on other things. He can't distract himself with wanting food and water, although both are really important, because he could end up feeling worse, perhaps panic... Despite his pain, he needed to stay calm. Panicking would only worsen his condition.

Right now, he needed to try to steer his attention towards trying to find a way out of this mess. He still hadn't figured out how he was going to get past Mr. Wilter. He needed the metal cuff off of him. He was going nowhere with this thing in his arm. But...how would he get Mr. Wilter to take it off of him? It wasn't like he'd just get it off if he'd ask. And he doubted lying to him about the gateway to ChalkZone would work. Knowing that man, he wouldn't let him go until he had gotten into ChalkZone himself. Mr. Wilter would test what he said before letting him go, on the off chance he lied to him. So there goes that potential idea.

Snap struggled up to his feet. His body was a little shaky, and moving his arm even just to get up was horrible. But he managed to get up to his feet. He staggered a little. He looked towards the door. He could hear faint footsteps approaching. He winced, realizing that it was probably Mr. Wilter coming in to interrogate him further. He wondered why, at first, since it should be school now. But then he realized it was the weekend. The realization caused him to gulp and back away.

All of a sudden, a wave of pain struck through his head and his world spun. He fell down to his knees. He put his right hand on his head and stayed there, his eyes shut and teeth clenched in pain. The sudden headache stayed there, gripping his skull for several moments. Then it went away as suddenly as it began. He remained on the ground, stiffened by what had happened. Slowly, he removed his hand and stared at it.

How had that happened? He never experienced something like that before. He never once had a moment where he suddenly got dizzy and a headache at once and so fast... As he sat there on his knees, he realized that the sensation didn't go away completely. He still felt a little off balance. It wasn't horrible. It was faint, but he could still detect it. He rubbed the back of his head, wincing as he recalled the pain that swept through it. The pain was still there too. Dull and achy, but still there. Why was this happening? He didn't feel like this earlier.

Then he realized it. As an uncomfortable feeling started to become noticeable in his chest and stomach, as he noticed the worsened condition of his arm wound, he knew what the problem was. And if he was correct on this, he needed to get help and fast. He knew it was only going to get worse from here.

He was becoming sick...

There was an infection in his arm now. It wasn't from the metal, but from his own clothing. Through the torn pieces of his leotard, he could see some discoloration, some swelling. There was some pus starting to form. The wound was definitely infected and it needed treatment fast. It was already so bad it was starting to wreak havoc on his body. Feeling a slight chill, he realized that he was also starting to form a fever. Right now, he didn't feel bad enough that he needed to lay down, but it was only going to get worse from here.

He lifted up his head as he heard the door start to open up. He shuddered and tried to move back. He accidentally irritated his arm and he let out a cry of pain. He gripped his upper arm, carefully avoiding the cuff cutting into his flesh. He turned his head and watched as the door opened up. His eyes widened as he watched Mr. Wilter walk into the room, shutting the door behind him.

In response, remembering the pain he was put through, Snap started to whimper in fear. He cringed back away from the man as he approached. Snap lowered himself to the ground, taking care to avoid pressing on his damaged left arm. He looked up at Wilter with big, frightened eyes, and continued to whine as the man approached. He silently begged him to leave him alone. He hoped that Mr. Wilter would show him some mercy and not hurt him again. He didn't want to be hurt again...

Soon the man stood in front of him, just a foot away. He stared down at Snap with narrowed, stern eyes. Snap shuddered under those eyes. He tried to turn his head away, but it was heard to tear his eyes from this man. His stare was almost like a vice grip. He couldn't help but keep eye contact with him. Memories of how the man yanked his chain resurfaced even more, with a vengeance. His arm started to ache dully, as if it was remembring how it was yanked around like it was nothing. Snap winced at the painful memory and he hunkered himself down lower against the ground, as if somehow that would keep him safe.

Mr. Wilter hadn't tried anything yet. He just stared at him with that cold expression. Snap felt tears pooling out of his eyes. He continued to let out low whimpers. He scooted himself back a little, managing to get about an inch or two away from the man. His body trembled like a leaf. Then, as the man reached out for him, Snap's eyes widened and he let out a cry of fear. He managed to turn his head away and shut his eyes. He shook harder as he waited for the pain to come. He waited for Mr. Wilter to hurt him again like he had before.

But something else happened. Something he wasn't expecting.

There was a gentle touch on his head. A slight warmth. Snap opened up one eye and looked up at Mr. Wilter cautiously. He could see the man now had something of a softer expression. His eyes were still narrowed, but they weren't as hard as they were just seconds ago. The man had placed his hand on his head, and he was gently stroking it a little. Snap opened up his other eye and he looked up at Mr. Wilter in confusion.

Why was he doing this? Mr. Wilter had already shown how little he cared for him, how much he hated zoners. Why was he being nicer to him? Snap wasn't sure if he should feel reassured, or if he should be terrified. He wanted to scoot away more. He didn't feel entirely comfortable with this man's touch. Was he treating him like a pet now? Yeah...that had to be it. This man must want to treat him like a pet, to mess with his mind. Out of fear and a bit of anger, Snap started to growl at Mr. Wilter.

The man stopped stroking his head, but he kept his hand firmly placed on it. He stared down at Snap for a few moments, listening to him growl defensively. "Relax, Snap. I didn't come here to hurt you." He paused for a moment. He added, "And I'm not here to interrogate you again. Not yet."

Snap slowly stopped growling, but he didn't feel any safer. A part of him, out of desperation, wanted to bite the man's hand. The only thing keeping him from doing that was what happened the last time he tried that. He had bitten Wilter's hand before and it resulted in the man yanking his chain so hard that it caused him to black out. He didn't want to experience that again.

"Then what did you come here for?" Snap asked, his teeth chattering slightly from the fear still gripping his body. He turned his head a little. "G-G-Going to rub it in how I c-c-can't escape...?"

"True...I know you can't escape. And I would remind you of that if you tried to get away. However...that's not why I'm here." Mr. Wilter said. He moved his hand away from Snap and stared down at him with an expression that held the slightest tinge of regret. Not remorse, but regret. There was a difference. "I wanted to apologize for yesterday."

"You what?" Snap asked, raising his head. Did he hear right? "You came to apologize to me?"

Mr. Wilter nodded his head. "I was out of line with pulling the chain like that when you bit me. I had lost my temper, I admit. I hadn't meant to hurt you so bad that it caused you to black out. And for that, I am sorry." The tone of his voice did suggest the man was being honest about feeling some regret for causing him to faint. Still, Snap wasn't going to let his guard down. "I promise I won't pull the chain again during your stay, and I'll try to keep my temper in check."

Snap looked up at Mr. Wilter skeptically. He wasn't entirely sure how much of the man's words he can trust. Mr. Wilter had given him very little reason to trust him. All he had done since he captured him was hurt him and threaten him. Why should he believe him when he said he won't yank the chain again? Or that he'd try to control his temper? Mr. Wilter could be saying this just to lower his guard and try to make him more at ease here. Snap had to stay on his guard because if he got too comfortable, he might accidentally slip out how to get into ChalkZone.

Still, regardless of how uncertain he was, he had to admit that Mr. Wilter being this calm and nice to him was a good change of pace. Even if there wasn't that much kindness and even though this could be an act that'll fall apart soon, it was nice to have Mr. Wilter interact with him that wasn't pain and demanding answers from him. The last thing he needed right now was more pain and fear.

"However, don't think this means I'm going to just let you go. You are still going to remain with me until I get the information I want." Mr. Wilter said, narrowing his eyes. "I need to get into ChalkZone... And I know you know a way inside. I will find a way to get the information from you, Snap, one way or another."

Snap narrowed his eyes. "Well, g-goo-good luck... I'm not t-tell-telling you anything more..." He raised his head up more. He bared his teeth at Mr. Wilter despite his fear. "No way in h-hell am I t-telling you how to get into Ch-ChalkZone..."

Mr. Wilter folded his arms. "I thought you might say that, Snap. I know how stubborn you can be. But don't worry...I think I know what will make you crack under the pressure."

Snap watched curiously, a sense of dread filling his stomach, as Mr. Wilter reached into his pocket. Snap's eyes locked onto it, wondering what the man was going to do. Then, seconds later, Mr. Wilter pulled something small out of his pocket. He held it up into the air, pressed between two fingers. He waved it back and forth in front of Snap, letting him get a nice long look at it. Snap's eyes widened in horror at what he saw.

It was a piece of chalk... Not magic chalk, but despite not being magical, the chalk was still very dangerous in the hands of the wrong person. Mr. Wilter hadn't stated what he'd do outright, but the presence of that chalk told him enough. He looked up at Mr. Wilter, horror spreading across his white face. He shook his head, silently pleading with him not to go through with it.

"Don't worry, I won't try anything right now.." Mr. Wilter said as he raised the chalk into the air. "I am going to save it for the next interrogation." He looked at the chalk in his hand. He smiled and examined it as he turned it around a few times. "I had no idea chalk wielded so much power..."

"P-Please...d-don't do it!" Snap begged him.

Mr. Wilter glanced down at him. "I told you, Snap. I'll do what I have to...in order to obtain that information I need. I don't want to hurt you again like I did last night, so this is a nice alternative, and it's just as effective, don't you think?" He chuckled lightly. "I'm sure you don't want your fellow...zoners...to be in trouble, now do you..?" Snap stared at him with wide eyes. "But...don't worry about it for now." He placed the chalk back in his pocket. "It will be for later, not now..."

Snap couldn't believe it. This man...this insane man...he was going to use the power of creation via chalkboard to make him talk. He was going to draw on the chalkboard something dangerous, something to wreak havoc in his homeworld, all just to make him speak. This...this was such a low blow... He couldn't believe how manipulative this man was being. This was worse than what he did before... He was going to cause pain to countless zoners if he didn't speak. How despicable...

And for what? Why was this man acting this way? Snap still hadn't much of an idea of what caused Mr. Wilter to go nuts like this. He didn't understand just what it was about him and zoners that caused him to behave like this. What had he done to Mr. Wilter to warrant this kind of behavior from him? Snap never tried to hurt him before. He had no intentions on trying to hurt him. He only bit him out of self defense. Mr. Wilter was hurting him and he was getting desperate.. What did this man expect him to do?

He couldn't take it anymore. He had to know why Mr. Wilter was doing this. There had to be a reason. There had to be a motivation behind all of this. He narrowed his eyes at the man and pushed himself up on his undamaged right arm. The man just watched him, not saying a word as Snap sat himself up until he was on one knee.

"Wh-Why...?" Snap asked in a low voice. Mr. Wilter tilted his head. Snap continued, raising his voice a little, "Why are you d-d-doing this? Wh-What made you go cr-cra-crazy like this..? Why...?"

Mr. Wilter stared at him for a few moments. He then turned and started to walk away. Snap watched as Mr. Wilter grabbed the door handle. At first, he thought he was going to be left alone with no answers. But the man paused. He turned his head, staring at Snap with one cold blue eye. His eyes narrowed into slits, and Snap could feel the negative emotion practically simmering off the man's body. He shuddered at this uncomfortable sight.

Mr. Wilter spoke in a cold voice. "You made a fool of me... You caused me to be sent to jail for something that wasn't my fault..."

Snap's eyes widened. Was that what this was? What what what this whole thing was about? Revenge? And what was this man talking about? When did he do anything to cause Mr. Wilter to go to jail? He couldn't think of one time.

Mr. Wilter was finished yet. "I know I saw Rudy and Penny climb out of that chalkboard..." Snap gasped in horror at this. He..he had seen that...? "And I know you are associated with those two... I know you planned on doing that. I know you planned on humiliating me...costing me my reputation... And I plan on making you pay for that."

Snap whimpered softly at this, his body trembling. If revenge was his plan, then his hopes of escape had been reduced. Mr. Wilter might have been lying when he said he would let him go if he got the information he wanted. He might do something worse to him. He couldn't believe Mr. Wilter would blame him for that... He had nothing to do with that... It wasn't his fault he went to jail... Yet here the man was, blaming him for that, taking out his anger on him like this...

Snap turned his head to the side and whimepred, "I-It wasn't m-m-my idea...W-We didn't m-mean to..."

"Don't lie to me, zoner!" Mr. Wilter snarled. "I know you were involved!" Snap fell silent and just watched the man in fear. "And besides...there's another reason I'm doing this. Even if I didn't blame you for that humiliation...there's still reason for me not to trust you...to question you..." He turned the knob and opened up the door. Before he went through the door, he said, "I am terrified of cartoons...and that's what you are essentially...a living cartoon..."

Snap stared at Mr. Wilter in shock. He watched as the man walked out of the unfinished bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Snap let that information sink in. Mr. Wilter..had a phobia of cartoons? Suddenly, his anti-cartoon behavior was making sense. Though Snap wondered if there was more to it than that. There had to be something else in addition to the phobia. Something that he wasn't thinking of.

Suddenly, as he tried to think of what more could have caused Wilter's behavior, Snap felt a tingling in his nose. He tried to hold it back. But he was unable to. Shutting his eyes, he let out a loud sneeze, the force shaking through his body. He wiped his nose. Then seconds later, another tingle, and another sneeze. He took in a few breaths as he wiped his nose a second time, cleaning off the mucuous, and sniffling.

Then there was a pain in his stomach. He grunted in pain and clutched his stomach. An uncomfortable sensation spread through it, making him feel queasy. He hunched himself over, holding himself up on his right arm. He tried to control himself. He tried to ride out the sensation. Yet he was powerless to stop it. He opened his mouth and started to cough. Then he started to gag a little as his stomach lurched. Before he knew it, he vomited, emptying a small portion of his stomach on the ground.

Snap leaned back and rubbed his stomach, groaning softly. He was already getting sicker. He was getting hungrier...thirstier... He had to get out of here... Rudy, Penny... He hoped they were looking for him. He hoped they would find him soon.

"Bucko... Buckette..." Snap said, his voice starting to sound a little raspy. "P-Please...hurry..."


	5. One Step Closer

"See ya, mom! We'll be back later!" Rudy said as he turned the doorknob. "Penny and I are going for a walk!"

From the kitchen, he could hear his mother drying some dishes, the clang of a couple of them coming together. His mother called out, "Okay! Be careful! And have fun!"

Penny stood in front of the door. Rudy was already out of the house. Penny paused and looked back towards the kitchen. "We will, Mrs. Tabootie! Bye!" With that, she shut the door and went up to join Rudy.

Although Rudy put on a smile when he came out of the bedroom, Penny could tell that he was very worried. As soon as they got far enough from the house, Rudy's smile had faded away completely, replaced with a forelorn expression. Penny looked at him sympathetically. She wanted to try to cheer him up, but what could she say? Though she was hopeful that they'd find Snap, she had to admit she had no way of guaranteeing that they'd find him. A lot could have happened out here.

She didn't want to act hopeless, though, and she didn't want to allow herself to become like that either. There was still hope they'd find Snap. She was hoping that they would run into him during their walk to find clues as to what happened. Maybe Snap is hiding somewhere, just waiting for them. Maybe, as they pass by a tree or bush, he'd jump out at them and surprise them. Maybe he'd give them a big hug because he missed them so much. She missed him and she knew Rudy did as well.

But she couldn't ignore the possibility that he was kidnapped. Rudy's bizarre dream, despite some of the illogicalness of it, did make some sense, as Rudy pointed out. Snap would be the kind of person to wander off if something caught his eye. It wasn't that he was stupid or anything, but Snap is just a very curious zoner and stuff in the real world sometimes fascinates him. He might have just left to look at something real quick, being so enthralled he forgot to tell them about it.

Penny knew Snap was smart enough to stay put. So if Snap wandered off and he couldn't find them, he would have waited right where he was until he saw or heard them coming when they realized he was gone. He wouldn't continue wandering around hoping to find something familiar. So the only reason he would have disappeared if he did wander off was if he was captured. That was a possibility, and if the kidnapper silenced him, that would explain why they never heard a cry for help. The kidnapper could have gagged him and dragged him off.

Snap's 2D powers might come in handy, depending on how the person is holding him. If they don't realize he has these powers, then Snap could use them to escape, but only if he was careful. If the kidnapper realizes he has these abilities, they could easily use them against him, like folding him up like a piece of paper, similar to what Terry did to him, or putting him in a sealed room where he could use his powers at all to escape. If Snap tries to use his 2D powers, he had better be careful, or...

Her eyes widened suddenly. As she and Rudy headed down the street they trick-or-treated on last night, a horrible thought crossed her mind. If Snap was kidnapped...then there was a strong possibility that the kidnapper knows about his 2D powers. Snap wouldn't just stay there if he had a chance to get out. If the kidnapper didn't now about his 2D powers, Snap could exploit that and get free, then hide somewhere. But what if Snap was still trapped there? If he was, the kidnapper must now about his powers.

She thought about saying something to Rudy, but she decided to wait. First, they had to get a better idea of what might have happened, even if it's just a tiny detail. They had to look around the neighborhood and see if they could find clues or even Snap himself. If they kept looking around and they still couldn't find Snap, then she'd bring up her thoughts. If her hunch turned out to be right, then she feared what else this person might find out. She hoped that the kidnapper would think Snap was just some sideshow freak, but not everyone is so stupid.

Penny did her best not to think about the possibility of this person knowing about Snap's 2D powers or what they might do with that knowledge. Instead, she focused on doing what she could do at the moment. And that was helping Rudy find clues as to what might have happened. She wouldn't be able to solve anything if she stood around and just pondered what might have been. Maybe something would turn up today that they would find useful.

She and Rudy continued their trek down the sidewalk. Walking down here with Rudy felt a little strange. She thought back to the trick-or-treating, where they were walking together like this, except Snap was with them. She could almost imagine that blue zoner walking up beside them with that big grin on his face... She stiffled back a tear. She hoped that he was okay.

Penny looked left and right as they walked. She noted how some of the Halloween decorations were still out. Some of the neighbors around there didn't bother removing the Halloween decorations until sometime later today. None of them were turned on of course, and some decorations were partially taken down. In a matter of a few hours, the neighborhood was going to be barren again, at least in the sense of no more decorations. Well not until Christmas that is. Looking at the decorations did give Penny an idea.

"Hey, Rudy..." Penny spoke up.

"Yeah?" Rudy asked.

"I think I know what might have distracted Snap." Penny said. Rudy looked at her with widened eyes. He stared at her, wordlessly asking her to continue. "It's just a wild guess, but I think it was a Halloween decoration."

Rudy frowned at her slightly. "Yeah I kind of figured that's what it was. There were a lot of those last night. The question would be which one distracted him."

Penny did feel a little silly. Of course it would have been a Halloween decoration that distracted him. Those were what stood out the most on Halloween night. That was the most obvious thing. But then, as she thought about it more, perhaps they could reduce their search if they did a little filtering. Not all the decorations were that outlandish, and they did only stick to this street and the next one. She deduced Snap must have been captured on one of these two streets; she couldn't honestly see Snap straying to another street. The other side of these two streets, she could see, but not another one.

She realized how lucky they were that a number of people in the neighborhood kept up the decorations, even if some of them had them partially removed. It was still something to work off of. She wasn't going to remember all the decorations herself, and she doubt Rudy would. Having these out, despite being turned off, would be helpful. She could look around and get a mental idea of what it was like at night and try to think which decoration would have caught Snap's attention.

Penny said, "I think our best bet is to go to the houses on this street and on the next that had the most...elaborate decoration."

"You mean like the one Mr. Wilter had out last night?" Rudy asked.

"Exactly." Penny said. "Mr. Wilter's is a great example of what I was talking about. That Halloween decoration he had out last night was beautiful, and it played Halloween music as we passed by. Some colorful decoration like that would have caught Snap's eye..."

"...which would have caused him to wander over, and the kidnapper could have grabbed him while he was distracted..." Rudy finished her sentence, realization washing over his body. His eyes widened and he stared at Penny. This revelation wrapped around his head and the two of them got a clearer picture of what might have went down. "That should limit our search then! Only a couple houses on this street and the next had decorations like that!"

Penny had mixed feelings about that, and she could tell, from the tone of his voice, so did Rudy. Fewer houses did make the work less complicated. It meant they could do some searching and not take that long. Rudy's mom would get suspicious if they stayed out too long, and she had her doubts the neighbors would be happy about a couple of kids looking around their property for too long. But on the other hand, the fact they had fewer places to look meant that once they run out of this places to look, what then? They didn't really have any other leads at the moment of where to look.

But something could come up during their search to help give them more places to look, should they turn up empty. Maybe one of the neighbors had seen something, or maybe something else could have distracted Snap besides the decorations. Like what, she wasn't sure, but she couldn't rule out the possibility. She could only hope their searching around would turn up something. Hopefully something that would give them a bigger clue as to what happened to their friend.

"Yeah!" Penny tried to sound as optimistic as possible. The two of them stopped walking as she took a look around. Her eyes locking onto the house across the street, she said, "Let's try there first! They had something pretty flashy. Maybe Snap went there."

Rudy nodded his head. "I hope we'll be able to find something."

"I'm sure we will, Rudy." Penny wasn't sure herself, but she wanted to sound as hopeful as she could to Rudy. She didn't want to squander his hope. "Maybe, if we don't find anything, we could ask Mr. Wilter if he's seen anything. He might have seen someone suspicious wandering aorund the neighborhood."

"That is a possibility, yeah." Rudy said, nodding his head. "Maybe he could help us find Snap."

Though Penny was open to the idea of asking Mr. Wilter for help, she hoped it didn't come down to it. Mr. Wilter isn't exactly the first person she'd go to for help. He wasn't the friendliest guy around. He wasn't really a bad person. She's certainly met worse. But still... He wasn't someone she'd turn to for help right away. Plus he was usually busy and if they tried asking him for help, he might force them to leave, maybe threaten to give them more homework if they didn't. She wasn't sure if he could actually do that, but she wasn't interested in finding out.

But still, he might prove helpful if they were forced to ask for his assistance, provided that he had seen anything. Penny did not suspect Wilter, so she didn't really regard his house as a vanishing point. Snap could have disappeared around that area, though. Wilter might have seen something there, or heard something. He might be willing to help. For all his jerkiness, Mr. Wilter still wouldn't want to see children get hurt. And if he knew Snap was in trouble, he might be willing to help.

There was a small part of her that almost considered him a suspect, but she quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head. Mr. Wilter wouldn't do something like that. He wouldn't kidnap a child. He might be a jerk, but he wasn't that much of a jerk. A part of her felt somewhat ashamed for almost thinking their own teacher was behind this. She tried not to feel a little too guilty. It wasn't like she outright accused the man of anything. Should they need to talk to him, she hoped that Wilter could provide some insight in catching the real kidnapper.

"Yeah, Mr. Wilter is a lot of things. But completely ignoring the need of a child certainly isn't one of them." Penny said. Her mind ran with thoughts of when Mr. Wilter was genuinely freaked out when Reggie was stuck in the ground, due to magic chalk dust of course, and the time when Mr. Wilter expressed concern about her and Rudy falling down on stage due to Reggie's dog. Say what they could about Wilter, one thing they couldn't say was he was completely heartless. "If our search doesn't turn up anything, we'll go talk to him."

"That sounds like a plan." Rudy said, giving a small smile.

Penny did her best to smile back. "Okay, let's get started."

Rudy and Penny wasted no more time. They knew, with Snap trapped in the real world, there wasn't that much time they could fiddle around with. The sooner they found Snap, the better. Giving each other one more nod of understanding, the two of them headed across the street. As they headed to the sidewalk in front of them, heading towards the house with the partially taken down Halloween decoration, the same thought swept through their minds.

Wherever Snap was, they hoped he was okay.

sss

Snap's body trembled, cold fear gripping him, as Mr. Wilter opened up the door. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest. He knew what time it was. Mr. Wilter had come back to interrogate him, but this time, things were going to be different. The man was not going to try to hurt him again. But what he was about to do was so much worse.

He wished it was just some misunderstanding, that perhaps he had just misheard the man. But when he heard the squeaking sound of something on wheels, and he saw Mr. Wilter push in a large chalkboard, he knew that it had been reality. Snap felt a cold feeling grip his heart as he watched Mr. Wilter push the chalkboard and placed it near the door, which he shut not long after. The chalkboard was positioned too far away for Snap to reach it. He let out a soft whimper when Mr. Wilter pulled out the piece of chalk.

This was it... This was the moment he had dreaded, the moment he knew Wilter had been waiting for. Wilter was going to try to get more information out of him, specifically how to get into ChalkZone, and he was going to threaten his own people to get what he wanted. Snap couldn't stop his fearful shaking. All this fear he was feeling was also irritating his body aches and ever, making him feel worse. But Mr. Wilter didn't care, or at the very least, didn't notice, as he positioned himself beside the chalkboard, smirking knowingly down at him. The way he was looking at that piece of chalk...Snap didn't like it.

"It's that time again." Mr. Wilter said. "You are going to tell me everything I want to know, because if you don't..." He held the chalk between two fingers and waved it from side to side in a menacing manner.

Snap got up to his feet. "N-No...please..." He moved forward until the chain started to pull on his arm. He let out a cry of pain and dropped to the ground. He gave a few shudders, then looked up at Wilter with large, frightened eyes. "D-Don't do it...please! P-Please have mercy!"

Mr. Wilter chuckled lightly. He walked until he stood directly in front of the chalkboard. He folded his arms againt his chest. The white chalk piece could be easily seen, wedged between two fingers. He stared down at Snap, his expression making it clear he believed himself to be superior to Snap. The little zoner shuddered underneath that stare. Still on his hands and knees, he moved back, wincing in pain.

"If you don't want your friends getting hurt, zoner...you will talk." Mr. Wilter said. He raised the magic chalk in the air, eyeing it with that eerie smile. "Because if you think I won't do it..." He took a small step forward, but still kept himself out of Snap's reach. "...you better think again."

Snap's eyes widened in horror. He let out a few small whimpers, both from pain and from fear. He couldn't believe that Wilter was willing to threaten countless zoners just to force information out of him. Doesn't he realize what he's doing? Doesn't he see that zoners were just as sentient and alive as humans? Why can't he understand that? Mr. Wilter thinks he's doing no harm. It was clear, from the way he was acting, he doesn't understand what he's doing. Oh if only he could see the truth...

But what could he do? Nothing he said was going to get through to this guy. He might not want to hurt him, but Snap didn't think it was completely out of remorse. He thinks the main reason Wilter felt any guilt at all was because he needed him for the interrogation. He didn't want him to die because it meant he'd be back to square one in finding out about ChalkZone. Snap wouldn't doubt that Wilter's attitude regarding his health would change once he got the information he wanted.

Snap could feel a cold chill in his body, resulting from the fever. It was getting worse. He could feel it spreading throughout, causing him to shiver slightly. The fever had gotten higher, causing his headache to worsen. He did his best to fight back against the nausaea, but the fear from what Mr. Wilter was doing was going ot make that difficult. His illness was going to get worse, and he feared of when that would happen. Would he become so out of it that he would just give whatever information to Mr. Wilter? He certainly wouldn't be thinking straight at that point.

The pain in his arm had gotten a little better for a bit. He had been careful not to move it around so much. But when he tugged on it earlier in an attempt to get to the chalkboard, the pain had come back. His whole arm ached horridly from the cuff pushed through his flesh, between his two forearm bones. The skin around the area looked a tad worse now. The infection was getting worse. It was spreading further. He needed some antibiotics and fast. He was going to end up in a life or deat situation if he didn't get out of here.

But...but how? He was trapped here. He kept telling himself that over and over. Unless Rudy and Penny can figure out where he was... His mind drifted off to them. They're probably worried sick about him right now. They might be looking around the neighborhood, or searching around ChalkZone just in case he found his way back. He missed them so much... It hadn't been a full twenty four hours, but he missed them. He wished they were here right now. He could use their comfort. Mr. Wilter...is scaring him. He wanted out of there. All he wanted to do was go home... He just wanted to go home...

Suddenly there was a slam against the chalkboard. Snap jolted a little. If he had fur, it would be raised on end right about now. With a quickened heart beat, he looked over at Mr. Wilter. He could see the man's left hand had formed a fist, and he had struck it against the chalkboard. There was a look of intensity in those eyes. Snap gulped, knowing the man wanted to get started with the interrogation. He seemed to have less patience than before.

"Come on, let's talk. You know what I want, zoner." Mr. Wilter said. He pointed a finger at Snap. The little blue zoner cringed, his eyes focusing intently on the finger before looking up at Wilter's stern face. "Tell me I can get into ChalkZone! What is the method? Where is the gateway? What is the key? Tell me!"

Snap shivered harder, shaking his head slowly from side to side. "N-No...please..."

Mr. Wilter growled at this. He showed his chalk to him again. "If you don't, I will draw something to give your friends a little trouble. I will do it , too, if you do not give me what I want." As if to prove his point, Mr. Wilter pressed the chalk against the board, but did not pull it to create anything. "All it would take is a few lines...and your precious pals are in for a nasty surprise."

"No!" Snap cried. He climbed up to his feet. He staggered a little, but managed to keep his feet firmly planted on the ground. He took in a few breaths, his body hunched over. He looked at Wilter with a desperate expression. "Please d-d-don't do it...Y-You don't know wh-what you're d-d-doing!"

"I know full well what I'm doing, Snap." Mr. Wilter said, narrowing his eyes. "I am going to get the information out of you, one way or another. Now..." He hunched over slightly, his eyes boring into Snap's. "Talk! Or else..." He placed the chalk in front of his face, staring intently at it before his pupils looked back down at Snap. This made him look more menacing.

Snap moved back a little. He winced in pain, his arm wound getting irritated by even just the slightest tug. His headache was getting a little stronger, and he could feel himself start to get a little lightheaded. It got back enough that he started to lose his balance and he fell onto the ground. He rubbed his head and he stared over at Wilter. No sign of remorse in those eyes. It was possible that Wilter didn't understand that he was getting sick. Or, just as likely, if not more, he simply didn't care.

There..there had to be a way out of this. There had to be something he could do to prevent Mr. Wilter from finding out more about ChalkZone. Anything... He couldn't allow him to find out about magic chalk. If Mr. Wilter learned about that, and if he finds out Rudy has some... Just how far was this man willing to go? Would he threaten Rudy next? Snap wanted to say he wouldn't go that far, but he was already willing to threaten thousands of people. He no longer knew just how much this man was willing to do.

Snap felt a stronger sensation of nausae in his stomach. He rubbed it with his right hand, trying to fight off against it. He didn't want to throw up again. He was somewhat amazed that Mr. Wilter hadn't noticed the vomit laying on the ground. But considering how nutty this man really was right now, it was possible he was just overlooking it. He was so determined to get into ChalkZone, small details like that alluded him. Perhaps if he saw what he was doing, if he saw that he was becoming sick, maybe he'd begin to have second thoughts. But how was he going to do that when this man was so dead set on making him talk about ChalkZone?

Snap's stomach suddenly lurched forward. He felt a lump in his throat. On instinct, Snap covered his mouth. He wretched slightly, fighting back the nausaea. No, he didn't want to throw up again. Though it would show Wilter he was sick, the pain associated from vomiting was just too much. It hurt him...it hurt him too badly... He didn't know why... It just did. The experience has him terrified.

"You filthy little chalk creature!" Mr. Wilter shouted at him. Again he pounded on the chalkboard. Snap winced at how loud it was, hurting his ears. He cringed back, staring at Wilter in fear. "Talk! Tell me how I can get into ChalkZone!" He raised up his chalk. "Don't make me use this!"

Snap whimpered softly. He laid himself on the ground, pressing his stomach against the floor as if it somehow would keep him safer. He shook his head from side to side. "P-Please..don't do it... Why..why w-w-would you d-do this...?"

"I don't see why you're so upset." Mr. Wilter said, shrugging his shoulders. "It's not like you and your people are real...one hundred percent that is. You're just a drawing. You can always be redrawn. So what's the issue with a few of you getting hurt or even dying? As a drawing, you're pretty much guaranteed some form of immortality..." He narrowed his eyes deeply. "Part of the reason why you and your kind are a potential threat to society. One of the most terrifying kind of enemy...are the ones you can't kill off completely..."

Snap's eyes widened. "W-We're n-not the enemy! Please, l-l-let me go! S-S-Stop doing this!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Snap. I already went through with the trouble of kidnapping you, and holding you here. I am not simply going to let you go just because you asked. If you want to be set free, if I decide not to keep you as an...exotic pet... Then answer what I want to know. You are of no use to be dead, Snap. I would rather you talk to me while you are still able. Telling me how to get into ChalkZone is the only way you will be able to return there. Now speak!"

"N-No..I-I c-can't..." Snap shut his eyes, a few tears escaping from them. "I c-can't do th-th-that!"

"Why not?!" Mr. Wilter yelled, his eyes wide with anger. "Why the fuck can't you tell me, you piece of chalk dust?!"

"Because...b-because..." Snap stammered, trying to collect his thoughts. His head was pounding now, disrupting his ability to think clearly for a bit. He trembled a little, afraid to hopen his eyes, trying to cope with the growing fever. More than ever now, he regreted wandering off. Why did he have to do something so stupid?

"Because why?!" Mr. Wilter demanded, stomping his foot on the ground. "Tell me! Why can't I get into ChalkZone?!"

"It's...it's b-because h-h-humans are b-banned from there!" Snap cried out. He opened up one eye and looked up at Mr. Wilter. The man stared down at him, his expression still that of anger, but now confusion was in the mix. He stared at Snap with a 'you've got to be kidding me what about Rudy and Penny' kind of look. Snap turned his head to the side, one of his eyes looking over at the insane man. "Th-There..there used t-to be a l-lot of humans going i-into ChalkZone l-l-long ago...but th-they k-k-kept wrecking everything, drawing carelessly, and they were e-eventually k-k-kicked out."

"And Rudy and Penny?" Mr. Wilter asked, cocking an eyebrow. "They go there, don't they?"

Snap nodded his head once. "I-Indeed they d-d-do... It's because th-they are the o-only humans we z-zoners trust in ChalkZone. Th-They never hurt u-u-us.. Th-They h-help us..."

Mr. Wilter stared at him for a while. Then he answered. "I see.. So what you're saying is I cannot get into ChalkZone because humans are banned?"

Snap nodded his head. "W-Well that's one of the r-r-reasons. The o-o-other is that..I-I can't l-let you hurt my p-p-people. Humans are c-c-capable of so much ha-harm. I cannot all-allow that to happen..." He shut his eyes again, lowering his head as horrible thoughts ran though his mind. I-I had to ma-many nightmares o-of ChalkZone be-being exploited. I-I-I don't w-w-want that...please...j-just stop this a-a-and let me g-go.. I pro-promise I-I won't te-tell any-anyone about this."

Mr. Wilter remained quiet for a while. This frightened Snap. As the man stood there, staring at him, saying nothing, the zoner couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. Was his words going to get through to him this time? Was Wilter finally going to see some reasoning? Or was he plotting something in his mind? Was he going to try something? It was so hard to tell... Snap wished the man would reply so he would know what his intentions were. But even when Mr. Wilter folded his arms, he still couldn't be sure of what he was going to do. The silence, the lack of a response, it was getting to Snap.

Snap watched as the man turned around and took a few steps towards the chalkboard. He took there, staring intently at Snap. Snap's heart pounded as he wondered what Wilter was going to threaten to draw. He opened up his mouth to protest, but then he realized that Wilter didn't bring out his chalk yet. In fact, the man put it in his pocket, making it clear he was not going to use it. But if he wasn't going to use that, then what was he going to use? What was Mr. Wilter going to do?

Mr. Wilter glanced at the chalkboard, then back at Snap. "Say, Snap... Are your people aware of when you are on a chalkboard? I mean, before you are erased?"

Snap was confused by this question. Why would Wilter ask that? "Y-Yes. On s-some level we a-a-are."

"And when someone draws something on a chalkboard, can you see it in ChalkZone?" Mr. Wilter asked. There was hidden intent in that voice. Snap shuddered, wondering what the man was up to. "Like...when a football player draws those x's and o's when talking about strategy, would you see it?"

"Y-Yeah..we wo-would." Snap nodded his head slowly. His mind briefly wandered off to the time when he, Rudy, and Penny were trying to find the right portal to get into the school, and one of the wrong portals they went through led to some football coach talking with his students. "Not with everything, but y-y-yes, we w-would s-s-see it...depending..if you know what I m-m-mean..."

"Oh I know what you mean." Wilter glanced at the chalkboard. Keeping his head in that position, a small, somewhat eerie smile spreading across his face, he turned an eye towards Snap. "Say Snap...can your people hear what's on the chalkboard...?"

Snap's eyes widened in horror at that question. No...Wilter wasn't talking about.. No, he couldn't do that... Snap's heart clenched as he saw Wilter take his head and move it towards the chalkboard. He could see the fingers arch, and he knew what the man was about to do. Snap forced himself onto his feet and moved forward as much as he could without pulling the chain. He reached his hand out, his eyes wide and teeth clenched in desperation.

"N-No! Pl-Please don't!" Snap cried, his eyes wide in horror.

Mr. Wilter grinned nastily at him. He pressed his fingertips against the chalkboard. "Oh? What? You mean I shouldn't do... this?!"

With that, Mr. Wilter started to pull his hand downward. His fingernails dug into the chalkboard itself. A loud screech sound filled the room, getting louder as the seconds passed. Snap let out a cry and covered his ears, trying to get that horrid scraping sound out of his head. Mr. Wilter kept going, scratching the chalkboard as slowly and deliberately as he could. A cold chill went up and down Snap's spine. Horror swept through his body as he realized that his fellow zoners were hearing this...only it was much worse for them...

"P-P-Please stop that!" Snap cried out. He opened up an eye and looked up at Wilter pleadingly, tears forming in his eyes. "I-I-It's l-louder and m-m-more horrible in th-there! Please... stop i-it! I beg of you! S-Stop!"

Still scraping his nails on the chalkboard, clearly showing a will of steel as he did not seem as affected by it, Mr. Wilter just smirked at Snap. "It's either this or I draw something, Snap. If you want neither, than tell me what I want to know..."

Snap let out a soft whimper. "J-Just please...st-stop..."

Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes. "Okay then..." Much to Snap's relief, Wilter did stop scraping the chalkboard. A sense of relief rushed through Snap's ears. He took in a few quick breaths. Mr. Wilter stared down at him. He said, "If that isn't enough to persuade you, I know what is." He lifted up his piece of chalk. Snap whined at the sight of it. "I am going to get what I want, Snap. If you don't tell me how to get into ChalkZone, I will give you a bigger incentive to tell me than just hurting your ears..."

Snap felt ice running through his blood. The look in the man's eye, the way he sounded, Snap knew that, any moment, he would draw on the chalkboard. Wilter was dead serious, too. There was nothing in his expression that suggested that he was joking about this. As Mr. Wilter raised the chalk and pressed it against the blackboard in a threatening manner, Snap couldn't help but let out a cry of fear. His heart rate quickened and he held out his hand in desperation.

"Please d-d-don't!" Snap begged him.

"Tell me how to get into ChalkZone..." Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Or I will draw a supervolcano that's due to erupt moments after it's erased!"

"S-S-Supervolcano..?" Snap whimpered. He didn't like the sound of that.

Mr. Wilter grinned evilly. "Trust me... You don't want something like this erupting anywhere near you..." He tightened his grip on the chalk. "Now speak! Or every one of your fellow zoners within a two hundred mile radius...is going to be screwed..." His voice darkened at that threat. "What will it be, zoner?"

Snap's breathing quickened. He started to hyperventilate a little. His heart pounded against his chest so hard he thought it was going to break out. He stared at Wilter in absolute horror. How...how could he do such a thing? This man...this madman... he was going to wipe out countless zoners, all in the name of getting him to speak. He could see the intent in those man's eyes. He knew Mr. Wilter was being serious about this. Snap really was trapped between a rock and a hard place. What choice could he make? Could he even make the choice?

He had no idea what he should do. This...this was the hardest decision he's ever had to make in his life. He couldn't believe that Mr. Wilter was forcing him to make this kind of choice. He couldn't believe just how far he was willing to go. He thought the man was nuts before, but...using a supervolcano to force him to speak? That was just..heartless. Did he have any idea what he was doing? Did he have a clue what kind of real harm that was going to cause?

Snap had no idea how he was going to get out of this. He really only had two choices, and both of them had a horrible outcome. He could either refuse to tell Mr. Wilter, and it would delay his chances of getting into ChalkZone. But it would result in the deaths of so many zoners when Wilter drew that supervolcano. He could give the information, but then not only could Wilter still drew the supervolcano anyway, just out of spite, but he would then have the knowledge of how to get into ChalkZone. He'd be letting an enemy walk right on in, and who knows what kind of damage would result from that...

"P-Please..I b-b-beg of you...Don't do it... Y-You're making a big mistake..." Snap pleaded with Mr. Wilter. He inched his way a little closer, as far as he could before he felt the chain tug on him. He reached out with his hand, wishing that it could stretch over and knock the chalk out of the man's hand. "P-Put that ch-chalk down..p-p-please..."

Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes. "If you want me to stop...then tell me how to get into ChalkZone." He moved the chalk down slightly, creating a tiny dot. Snap felt his stomach lurch forward at the sight of it, his heart skipping a beat. "Otherwise, I will draw that supervolcano I promised. I have no qualms about destroying artificial life. That's all you zoners are. Artificial. Fake. So why should I care about what happens to any of you?"

Snap whined at this, his body trembling. Fear was eating away at his stomach. His chilled mind raced as quickly as it could as it tried to figure out a solution. There had to be a third option somewhere. Something that he wasn't thinking of... But what? He couldn't even stop Mr. Wilter from drawing on the chalkboard. He couldn't reach him...

His eyes widened in fear when Mr. Wilter started to drag the chalk a little further, grinning evilly at Snap. The zoner took in a few shuddering breaths, panic rushing through his mind. If Mr. Wilter created a supervolcano there...and it went off... He knew not only would countless zoners be hurt, but among those would be two of his closest friends, Rapsheeba and Blocky. They'd get caught in the blast and...no... No he couldn't allow that to happen. He just couldn't.

"Please don't d-do it!" Snap cried. His headache was getting worse. He could feel his cold shivers becoming stronger as the fever was irritated, getting higher. His mind was starting to become a little muggy. He struggled to ignore his discomfort, focusing on Mr. Wilter. "You c-c-can't do this! P-P-Please, I beg y-you! S-S-Spare them! D-Don't do this!"

"Tell me how to get into ChalkZone..." Mr. Wilter said simply. His voice was eerily calm.

Snap shook his head. "N-No...y-y-you can't... Please..S-Stop this!" Tears flowed down his face. "Don't make me d-d-do this...please!"

Mr. Wilter dragged the chalk down more. There was now a small line on the black surface of the chalkboard. A line that Snap knew would become part of the supervolcano if Mr. Wilter decided to finish it. "Tell me what I want to know, zoner. Or you can say goodbye to your precious little friends."

"No please!" Snap cried. He cried a little harder. "Please...please d-don't make me do this.." He lowered his head, tears dripping from his eyes. "D-Don't..."

"Tell me! You fucking little piece of shit! Tell me! Or I will draw the supervolcano, and it will be your fault!" Mr. Wilter yelled at him, his eyes blazing in anger. "Tell me!"

Snap shook his head, whimpering. "No please! Don't d-d-do it! Let m-me go!"

"Tell me!" Mr. Wilter shouted at him, his voice raising in volume.

Snap's body trembled hard. Sobs wracked through his body. He looked at the man in fear. "P-Please..."

"Tell me how to get into ChalkZone!" Mr. Wilter drew a little further down. "I will draw the supervolcano, Snap! I will erase it!" Snap shook his head, staring at him with a pleading expression. "Oh yes I will! If you don't want me to do it, then tell me what I want to know! Tell me how I can get into ChalkZone!"

"No..." Snap said.

"Yes!" Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes.

"P-Please..I-I don't want this..." Snap begged him. Tears stained his cheeks. He was on his knees, his head lifted to stare up at the insane man. His breaths were deep and quick, hyperventilation still settled in. His mind was racing, his eyes darting back and forth as he struggled to figure out what he could do.

"Tell me what I wish to know! Do it! Hurry, Snap, my arm is slipping..." Mr. Wilter sneered, dragging the chalk a little more.

"No!" Snap shouted, reaching his hand out, his body shaking.

Mr. Wilter chuckled bitterly. "I don't know how long I can hold my arm, steady, Snap. You better tell me, or I can't guarantee your friends' safety..."

"I...I..." Snap whimpered, staring at Wilter with widened eyes.

"Tell me, Snap...or they will all die..." Mr. Wilter threatened.

Snap's eyes widened at this. His head was pounding, his heart racing. He felt his stomach churn and he felt sick to his stomach. He felt like he was going to throw up. He stared at the chalk, then at the man's eyes. He tried to think of something, anything, he could say or do to get out of this. He..he didn't want to make this kind of choice. He didn't want to be the reason why this evil man is heading into ChalkZone. He didn't want allow all those zoners to die either... He was trapped, with nowhere to go.

He felt a strong pang in his stomach, a cold chill rushing through his body. His nausaea grew stronger, making it hard to resist the urge to throw up out of fear. His headache pounded in his head, spreading a little across his skull. Dread was overtaking his mind. Fear chilled his body, making it hard to stop shaking. His fever was getting even worse. He could feel his face heating up. He swallowed hard. He stared up at Wilter pleadingly, but got no sympathy from the man. Breathing quickly, his heart racing, he knew...there was only one thing he could do. Only one thing that would ensure that his friends and those other zoners at least had a chance of survival.

He surrendered.

Snap lowered his head in submission. "The magic chalk..." He said in a low voice.

Mr. Wilter paused, staring down at the little blue zoner. "The what?"

"The m-m-magic chalk... Th-That's h-h-how you get in.." Snap said. His head was still lowered, refusing to look at Mr. Wilter. Tears flowed down his face. "I-It's a special type of chalk that can create portals into ChalkZone...and it a-a-allows you to c-create things while i-in Ch-ChalkZone. Only a h-human can use it."

Mr. Wilter stared at the zoner for a few moments, as if letting this settle in. He then smiled and walked over to Snap. The zoner winced as he heard the footsteps approaching him. Then he shuddered as he felt the man stroke the back of his head like he were a dog. Snap cringed away from the touch, but didn't fight back. Mr. Wilter gently stroked the top of his head for a few moments, smiling down at him.

"There, that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Mr. Wilter asked. Snap growled softly in response, prompting Wilter to take his hand away. "I think that's enough for now. Seems I worked you up a little too much. I'll give you a break before I come back."

Snap growled and turned his head away, curling up in a ball. "Wh-What more c-c-could you possibly w-w-want?"

Mr. Wilter grinned. "I'm going to ask you to tell me where I can get a piece of magic chalk. Though I already have an idea." Snap looked up at him. "I have a feeling that Rudy Tabootie has a piece...am I right?" Snap's eyes widened in horror at this. "Seems like he does... how very..interesting..." There was a twinkle in his eye.

"N-No...please.." Snap whimpered, but Mr. Wilter was already walking away.

"I will see you again soon, zoner." Mr. Wilter said as he headed towards the door. He opened the door up and stopped to look at Snap. He grinned evilly. "Thanks for the information, and don't worry.. I'll make good use of it..."

With that, the door was slammed shut, leaving behind a cold and frightened Snap alone in the room. Snap's body was chilled, filled with fear and dread and horror. He had no idea how things could get any worse now. He had given crucial information to Mr. Wilter. His best friend was going to be targeted next. And to top it off, he was getting sick.

It would take a miracle to set things right...

sss

Rudy felt his mind racing. He'd be frustrated right now if it weren't for the circumstances. He and Penny hadn't turned up any new information regarding their friend. He felt his heart clench tightly, the realization that they were nowhere near closer to figuring out where he was than before hitting him hard. He had no idea how much time had passed, and at the moment, he didn't care. All he knew was Snap was out here somewhere, he had no idea where he was, and he might be in grave danger.

Penny had tried her best to cheer him up, but despite her comforting words, he couldn't calm down. How could he? Snap was trapped here somewhere, and he couldn't stay in the real world for long. If they didn't get him back soon, he would die of dehydration or starvation, whichever one came first. On top of that, adding to his and Penny's worry, they just overheard some guys talking about a storm heading this way. It was going to rain. If Snap was trapped outside or in a poorly build room... He could feel his heart freeze in horror at the thought of it.

He still tried his best not to panic. He tried to calm himself enough so he could concentrate on continuing the search for clues. Somewhere, there just..had to be a hint as to where their friend was. He...he just had to keep believing they'd find something. Snap had to be in this neighborhood still. He just had to. He couldn't be that far away. He just needed to figure out where he could have gone. Which one of these houses was he in? Or had he gotten away and was hiding somewhere in the neighborhood?

Rudy wasn't sure where else to look. They were almost done with this street, and there weren't as many houses with fancy decorations. Mr. Wilter's house had one of the few. His was the flashiest and the most likely to get Snap's attention. But Rudy knew it was not likely Snap was taken by that guy. Mr. Wilter was a lot of things, but a kidnapper wasn't one of them. So that meant that Snap had to be somewhere around here on this street. He...he just wasn't looking hard enough.

But could he keep telling himself that? He and Penny were on the final house with fancy decorations. And they found nothing. No blue smudges. No sign of a struggle. No evidence suggesting that Snap was even here. And when he had asked one of the neighbors that lives there if they had seen a blue kid walking around there, they claimed they saw no one matching that description. Rudy and Penny didn't want to believe it, but...but there was a strong chance that..Snap hadn't disappeared on this street.

Which meant they only had one other place to look: Mr. Wilter's.

The thought brought a lump to Rudy's throat. He couldn't just go around accusing Mr. Wilter. He could just talk to him, and ask him if he's seen anything. But after checking all these houses and turning up nothing, could he really speak to Mr. Wilter without sounding a little...accusatory? He was his teacher; he should trust him at least enough to not do something horrible. Yet, at the same time, he had to remember the saying: when you eliminate the impossible, what's left is the truth, no matter how improbable.

The thought chilled him. The idea of Mr. Wilter kidnapping Snap... It was unprecidented. He..he wouldn't do something like that, would he? Rudy didn't want to believe it. Neither did Penny. If Snap was over there, they hoped that he was just helping Snap. Perhaps he got lost or something and was just letting him stay the night. Yeah, that had to be it. Mr. Wilter wouldn't go as far as kidnap someone... He just...wouldn't do that...

"Snap isn't here, Rudy." Penny said gently. She pressed a hand on his shoulder. "You know what we have to do now."

Rudy swallowed and nodded his head. "Y-Yeah..."

Penny gave him a comforting look, gently squeezing his shoulder. "I'm...I'm sure Mr. Wilter was just...helping Snap. And if Snap isn't there, Mr. Wilter might be able to help us."

"Yeah..I hope so." Rudy wanted to believe that Mr. Wilter was either helping Snap or would be helpful to them. He was uncomfortable with the idea of him actually doing harm. If Mr. Wilter did this on purpose...then just how far would he go? "I just..hope Snap is okay..."

"I'm sure he is." Penny said. She paused for a moment, and then gently tugged on his arm. "Come on, let's go see Mr. Wilter."

Rudy nodded his head. "Y-Yeah...okay."

The two friends headed towards the street. They looked both ways, and then rushed across, getting back over on the side of the road Rudy lived on. Then they started to head down, moving towards here Mr. Wilter's house was. From where, they could already see it, at least a corner of it. As they got closer, soon the house came into full view. The decoration was still up. Mr. Wilter hadn't taken it down yet. Rudy stared at it, remembering what it was like when Mr. Wilter had it turned on. Yeah, this was something that would definitely catch Snap's attention.

Rudy felt nervous about going over to Wilter's. Even though they both agreed that they would eventually have to go over there, that it was the one place they hadn't checked yet, he still felt a sensation of dread well up in his stomach. Mr. Wilter couldn't have... He shook his head. He couldn't let himself be dragged down like that. Snap was in trouble. He had to be prepared to do whatever it takes to save him. If that means having to consider Mr. Wilter a potential culprit, despite his reservations against it, then so be it.

Suddenly, he and Penny heard some panting. They looked over to their right and saw a jogger heading their way. Rudy didn't know her name, but he recognized her as one of his neighbors. She often went out for jobs at this time of day. He and Penny moved back, giving her room to run by them. Instead of going all the way, though, the woman stopped and stared at them. She stared at them for a few seconds, her eyes narrowed slightly.

"May we help you?" Penny asked, the silence getting a little uncomfortable.

The woman hesitated, and then she lifted up a finger and pointed it at them. "You two were with that blue kid last night, for trick-or-treating, right?"

At this, Rudy and Penny's eyes widened. Their hearts tightened. Could...could this woman know something that happened? Could she have the information they could use to find their friend? If so, this was the first good news they had since this search had begun.

"Yeah... His name is Snap." Penny said.

"We're looking for him now." Rudy said, holding out his hands in gesture. He took a step forward, staring intently at the woman. "Have you seen him?"

The woman narrowed her eyes slightly. "I have a suggestion for you. The next time someone decides to give you kids alcohol, please try to say no."

"What?" Rudy was confused. What was this woman talking about? "Alcohol? But we don't drink."

"We're too young for that." Penny added.

"Well your friend sure acts like he's old enough." The jogger crossed her arms, that frown still on her face. "The only reason I know he was drunk was that someone had to drag him into a house." She sighed softly and shook her head. "There was no other reason why he'd be dragged away. Not like this guy would have grabbed him if he weren't drug."

Rudy and Penny looked at each other, a sense of horror washing over their bodies. They knew that Snap couldn't have been drunk. He can't drink real world fluids. And since they both knew that Snap couldn't possibly have been stumbling around, intoxicated, there was only one other thing that could have happened. The same thing that Rudy had a nightmare about. Whoever had dragged Snap, like this woman described, had to have been kidnapping him.

The question was...how did it? This woman...she had to know. She might be their ticket to figuring out where their friend was. He hoped and prayed that was the case.

"Do you know who did it?" Rudy asked hesitantly.

"If you know who...helped him..." That was practically choked out by Penny, since she knew whoever did this certainly wasn't helping him. "Please..tell us."

"Certainly." The woman said.

What she said next struck cold horror straight into their hearts.

"It was Mr. Wilter."


	6. The Realization Of An Error

Mr. Wilter sat down on the chair in his kitchen. He looked out his window momentarily, enjoying the sunlight that was shining through. He took a moment to appreciate it. He had heard knews on the weather that a storm was going to come soon. A pretty strong one. Best enjoy the sun while he can before the clouds cover it up.

He picked up the glass of water from the table began to drink it as he thought about today's success. He hadn't really expected things to go this smoothly with Snap. In that one interrogation he did, he managed to get a huge bit of information. It was just a single piece of info, but it was going to change everything. Now he not only knew for certain there was a way into ChalkZone, but he knew just how to get there as well. He pulled the glass back and stared at his reflection. He couldn't help but smirk, feeling proud of his accomplishment.

Snap's reactions also confirmed a few more things for him. Whatever is drawn on the chalkboard really would come to life in this world of chalk. And that scraping..the zoners on the otherside must have heard it as well. Why else would Snap have reacted the way he had? He was certainly stressed out about the scraping alone. He couldn't imagine why; the scraping was annoying but not life threatening. But even more telling was his reaction to the supervolcano. He reacted just like he hoped he would. Those tears, that sobbing, he could tell they were genuine, at least enough that he could confirm that if he had erased the supervolcano, things would have gotten pretty bad for those zoners.

Mr. Wilter wasn't sure if he would have actually gone through with it. A part of him was somewhat reluctant. Despite his previous talks about being afraid of the zoners and not treating Snap very well, he wasn't sure if he could actually kill a zoner, let alone so many of them. If Snap hadn't broken down, would he have gone through with his threat, or would he have done something else?

Then again, should he really care what Snap feels? He was just a chalk drawing, so perhaps his emotions weren't genuine after all; just a mimickry from when he was around Rudy and Penny. Those two children could have taught him how to display emotion accurately. They were both pretty bright. He could see them doing that. And they were kids, innocent and trusting. It was no wonder they would befriend a zoner without stopping to think what kind of threat that zoner would pose to them. And if Snap's words are to be believed, then it wasn't just one zoner Rudy and Penny befriended, but a lot of them.

He lowered his glass to the table and shook his head. Such naive, foolish children... Did they really think they knew and understood the dangers of this world better than an adult? They were lucky they didn't get themselves hurt. It was a good thing he took action. Who knows what would have happened to them if an adult like himself didn't step into the mix? This potentially dangerous hobby of theirs must come to a stop soon, before they get themselves into trouble.

But perhaps he might be overreacting a little. Perhaps Snap was being honest about zoners not being the enemy. He didn't even know how long Rudy and Penny had been doing to this place. If they were going for along time, and if these zoners really were dangerous, then they would've harmed them by now, right? He couldn't imagine there being a reason why they'd wait so long to do anything to them. And Snap seemed to be a perfectly friendly zoner. The only time he actually tried to hurt him was when he bit him on the hand, and that had been his own fault. He was hurting him too much. This time around, when he hadn't tried to hurt him, Snap hadn't tried to attack him.

So maybe this was the mind set of most zoners maybe? Perhaps they weren't as aggressive as his paranoid mind thought they might be. He might really be taking things a little too far if this turned out to be correct. He was the aggressor here, the one confronting Snap. He had gone as far as make Snap cry, and if those tears were genuine...

He shook his head. It might still be a trick to lower his guard. As he told himself before, Snap could have picked up emotion lessons from Rudy and Penny. Or he could just be a really good actor. There was no reason for him to believe that Snap's crying was one hundred percent real. It looked and sounded real, but was it really genuine? It certainly seemed like it was. It sounded too real for him simply to ignore. Could he really keep going on telling himself that it was faked emotion?

He clutched his forehead with his hand. He was getting a headache thinking about this. A part of him wanted to believe Snap was faking at least to some extent to make him lower his guard. Snap was a zoner after all, and since he had no prior experience with them, he didn't know what they were capable of, what they might do... He had to be careful not to let his guard down. He didn't want to give Snap the chance to do anything...

...but what could he do? And more importantly, would he do it? There was a small part of him that does seem to see his emotions as genuine, a part of him that he could not ignore completely. He reminded himself again of how Snap never acted aggressively towards him until he had hurt him during the first interrogation in the unfinished bathroom. During the times he wasn't hurting Snap, he was fairly docile, though emotional and terrified, so it seemed. Would Snap actually, deliberately hurt him unprovoked? A part of him had a feeling the answer as a 'no'.

Yet...he still couldn't be completely comfortable around him. He was a living drawing. Cartoons frightened him, and Snap naturally terrified him by being a cartoon that was, for a lack of a better word, alive. He was walking around in his world, clearly a drawing, but also three dimensional, able to interact directly with the world around him. He knew nothing about this world of chalk except from what he was told, and he knew there was still so much more he didn't know. He...he had to figure out what he could before something could happen. He couldn't let himself go soft, not while there were still so many unknown factors he had to find out and consider.

He didn't even know how much of what Snap told him was the truth and how much of it might be a lie. Was it possible he lied about the scraping? Maybe the zoners didn't really hear it on the other end. Maybe he was just trying to make him take pity on him and stop. Did water really hurt zoners? If it did, it would make for a useful weapon against them in case they became unruly. While he wasn't certain if it really could hurt him or not, he had no plans on dumping water on the zoner just to try it out. On the off chance that Snap was being truthful, he didn't want to accidentally kill him.

Right now, he had to focus on the task at hand. He got more information out of the zoner, but here was still more. He needed to figure out where he could get this magic chalk so he could get into ChalkZone. Even if Rudy had some magic chalk, he didn't know how he could take it from him without causing a stir. He didn't have a lot of time, either, as Snap probably would need to eat and drink soon. If Snap died before he could secure a way into ChalkZone, things would get a lot more complicated.

Just then, he heard a knock on his door, tearing him away from his thoughts. The man turned his head, staring at the door and wondering who could be visiting him at this time. He would think most people would be too busy taking down their decorations and doing early Christmas planning to really bother visiting anyone else. Might as well see who it was. He pushed his chair back and got out.

He narrowed his eyes when he noticed just how forceful the knocking was getting. He thought he heard some angry shout from behind the door, but it was muffled. Geez, can't they be a little patient? The grumpy teacher headed towards the door, preparing to confront whoever it was on the other side.

sss

"Rudy.." Penny put her hand on the boy's shoulder. "Try to calm down. If you act to aggressively..."

"He has Snap, Penny!" Rudy shot her a glare. "We have to do something!"

Penny nodded her head agreement. "I know we do, but if we confront Mr. Wilter like this, we might make things worse. He could threaten Snap if we try to get in his way." She held up her hand in gesture. "I'm just as angry as you are about this, Rudy, but we don't know what his intention was with kidnapping Snap. He...he might not mean any harm."

Rudy took in a few breaths. He knew Penny was right. They couldn't just outright accuse Wilter, even in spite of the fact he was the culprit. If they confronted him so aggressively like this, then who knows what Wilter will do to Snap. Even if he hadn't meant any harm, he could still threaten Snap and be more than capable of inflicting harm on him. Snap was a zoner, made of chalk. And if Wilter somehow figured that out, then he would see Snap less than human, and see no harm in hurting him.

Still, Rudy found it hard to calm himself down. He couldn't believe Wilter had actually done something like this. He had known Mr. Wilter to be a stern teacher, but never a kidnapper. He thought he could trust the man to some extent, but after this... Just how far was Wilter willing to go? He kidnapped someone. He had...committed a crime, taking Snap from the streets and dragging him into his home. He didn't know how the man had treated his friend. Had he hurt Snap at all? His stomach twisted in knots as he thought about the different things Mr. Wilter might have done to him.

"I know, Penny. But I..." Rudy said softly. He pulled his hand away from the door. "I'm worried for Snap. Mr. Wilter kidnapped him, and we don't even know why..."

Penny put a hand on his shoulder. "I understand... I'm scared for him, too. Mr. Wilter committed a horrible act and we have no idea just how low he will sink. But Rudy..." Penny gently squeezed his shoulder. "...we won't be able to help Snap if our teacher becomes too alert to what we are doing to do. If we want to help him, then we can't confront Mr. Wilter directly; we need another way to get to Snap."

Rudy sighed softly. "I'm so scared for him, Penny. I don't...I don't know what that man has done to him.." He sucked in a breath. "He's frightened, I'm sure of it.."

Snap must be so scared and frightened... He could imagine his friend curled up in some dark room, waiting for him and Penny to rescue him. For all he knew, Snap could be horrifically beaten or cut up, or being mentally tortured by being locked up near water. He wished he could send a thought message to Snap and tell him he and Penny would do whatever it took to get him out of there. They knew where he was now. They could work on a way to get him out of there, somehow.

"I'm sure he is, Rudy. But this is not the way to help him." Penny said in a gentle but somewhat stern voice. "If you act angry towards Mr. Wilter, then he will be suspicious. We should leave now before he gets to the door. Better he thinks we're just a couple of prank knockers than if he realizes we know he has Snap."

Rudy knew that Penny was correct. They were better off tricking Wilter into thinking they were just pranksters. They had to keep the man in the dark about their knowledge of him having Snap. If they made it clear, then Wilter would make it even harder for them to get Snap back. He didn't know what Wilter wanted Snap for, but if it had to do with ChalkZone, Wilter could use Snap as a 'bargaining chip' to make him and Penny talk.

Rudy felt his heart clench as he realized what a big mistake he almost made. They should becoming up with a plan to save Snap, but instead, he let his anger get the better of him and he rushed over to confront Wilter right away. What if he had made things worse b doing so? Snap needed his help, and he wasn't going to be able to do that if he made the man responsible for his kidnapping suspicious, and take more actions than was necessary.

The best thing they could do right now was flee before the door opened. If they could leave quickly, they could fool Mr. Wilter into thinking they were just a couple of pranksters. If they moved around to the side of the house before the door opened, then they might have a chance to...

...the door knob began to turn. Rudy stared at it, his eyes wide in horror. He looked over at Penny, noting her eyes being wide as well. In just a couple seconds, that door was going to open up and Mr. Wilter was going to see them and know that they know he has Snap. Unless they got out of there now.

"Come on!" Rudy said, alarm laced on his voice. "Let's get going!"

He quickly grabbed onto Penny's arm and the two of them bolted to the side of the house. They pressed their backs against the side of the building and clenched their jaws shut tightly. They listened and waited for Mr. Wilter. They hoped and prayed he didn't think to come look for them on the side of his house. They could hear the door opening. They tensed up and waited to hear what the reaction was going to be.

sss

"Okay who..."

Mr. Wilter paused when he saw there was no one at the door. That was strange...he could have sworn he heard someone knocking on the door. In fact, there had been. He might be old, but he wasn't that old, and there was no way he could have just imagined the slight moist mark in front of his door. Someone had been here, perhaps running through the grass to get here. Maybe it had been the wrong house and they realized their mistake. A possibility.

He looked left and right, trying to see if he could figure out which way they must have gone. He couldn't see anyone. Yeah it was probably just the wrong house, or maybe some pranksters. He grumbled softly to himself. Of course children like that won't leave him alone. This hadn't been the first time he had been pranked like this and his house sometimes was mistaken for another, due to the weird addresses of some of the areas around here. He turned and started to walk away.

Then he stopped. He thought he heard a footfall from the side of his house. His eyes widened a little. Was it one of those hoodlums trying to vandalize his home? Not if he had anything to say about it. He immediately went around to the side, preparing to face the vandals before they had time to do anything.

"Okay you! I know you're...!" Mr. Wilter's voice trailed off. He stared in disbelief. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

There was no one here. He looked left and right, but he saw nothing. No sign of anyone being there. But..but this was where he heard the noise, right? He was certain of it. When he came over, he was positive he heard the pitterpatter of feet running off. But where did they go? No one could disappear that fast. He growled in frustration. No one makes a fool out of him. When he caught whoever was doing this, he could...

Oh forget it. He waved his hand dismissively. It was no use crying over spilled milk. The vandals had their fun messing with him. He should just forget about it for now and just head back inside. He was just going to 'feed the trolls' per say if he stayed out here and tried to catch them. He had other matters to attend to anyway. He didn't have time to waste on trying to catch a couple of small-time criminals.

He had to figure out what he was going to do about Rudy. The boy had the magic chalk. He had the key that he needed. Figuring out another source of magic chalk or even a backdoor into ChalkZone was important. Snap would have to know about it. If there was a less risky way than confronting Rudy, he was certain that little blue runt would know. He would just have to get the information out of him. Another interrogation was in order, but he'll wait a few hours so he could get himself prepared. He needed to figure out some questions he was going to ask him, and what he was going to to do to coax him into answering. The supervolcano threat worked. Maybe it would a second time...

He'd have to come up with a plan to confront Rudy as well. If it came down to it, if he had to go to him for magic chalk, he would need to really think hard about how he was going to do it. He couldn't just confront the kid about it. Rudy would most likely act as if he doesn't know what he's talking about, and if he is too aggressive about it, the parents would get involved, he was sure. The last thing he needed was for Rudy's parents to put a kink in his plan by getting a restraining order set on him. He'd need to figure something else out.

Deciding to ignore the vandals for now, Mr. Wilter turned and walked away. He headed back into his house and shut the door behind him. He turned his head towards the stairs. He looked in the general direction Snap was in for a few seconds, before heading back into the kitchen. He would talk to Snap again in a few hours, and when he does, he'd soon have knowledge of where to go to access ChalkZone. And the sooner he has access to ChalkZone...

...the sooner he could figure out just how dangerous this place really was.

sss

Rudy and Penny held onto the pipe as tightly as they could. They watched as Mr. Wilter left. When he did, the two of them let out a sigh of relief.

"That...was too close." Penny breathed.

"I couldn't agree more..." Rudy said. "If he had just stopped and looked up..."

Penny nodded her head. "At least he's gone now. Good thing. My arms are getting tired from holding this."

Rudy couldn't agree more. It really had been a close call, and they were able to get away by shere luck. They had heard Wilter coming around towards them and they nearly panicked. They couldn't run away anywhere without being seen by him. Their only option was to climb up the pipe towards the upper level and hope that Mr. Wilter was too tired to think of looking up. Rudy didn't think it was going to work, but he was willing to do it, as there had been no other options available at the time. While another, more practical solution might have been doable, with their short time span, they did not have a lot of thinking time.

Rudy had wanted so badly to confront Wilter. He was right there. He recalled how his blood had boiled at the sight of that man. He wanted to jump down and make him give Snap back to him. The only things stopping him were his logical, more rational side, who knew that such an act could endanger Snap's life, and Penny, who kept silently shaking her head at him whenever he showed any sign of wanting to jump from the pipe and onto Wilter's back.

He was still boiling in rage at what Mr. Wilter had done. He had committed a crime... He had kidnapped his best friend. And he had no idea just how he had been treating him. He wished he could see Snap. He wished he could get a glimpse of what was going on with him. Even if it was something horrible, knowing what happened to Snap, good or bad, would be of some comfort to him. He wanted to see what kind of condition he was in. He wanted to know what Snap had been put through, and he knew Penny wanted to know as well. There...there had to be a way to see...any way...

"Rudy..." Penny said gently to Rudy, snapping him out of his thoughts. "We should get going. We need to head back to your place and think of a plan. Now that we know where Snap is, we can better come up with a plan to rescue him."

Rudy almost argued back to her. He almost said to her how, since they were here anyway, that they should do something. But that was his desperation side talking. His logical side knew she was right. They needed to form a plan. At least now they had a lock on where Snap had disappeared to. Now wasn't the time to pull a risky rescue operation. Now was the time to retreat and come up with a plan, then come back. Once they figured out the proper plan, they can save Snap.

He knew exactly what he was going to do when they got Snap out of here. He was going to hug him. He was going to hold him and tell him everything was going to be okay. He knows Penny would join in, comforting him the best she could. They would both soothe him and try to help him feel better. After what he was going through, he was going to be in great need of comfort. Oh Snap... He could only hope that, whatever Wilter did to him, it wasn't that serious.

Speaking of Wilter, he was going to have that man arrested after he saved his friend. After what he had done, he deserved to get arrested. And this time, it wasn't going to be for being 'delusional' and 'raving about people crawling out of chalkboards'. This time, it was going to be for kidnapping a child, and he was going to get locked out for a long time, possibly lose his teaching job. Mr. Wilter was the one who decided to do something so horrible; he was going to have to pay the consequences of that.

Right now, though, he and Penny had to get out of there. If Mr. Wilter comes out again before they leave and he spots them... He didn't want to think of the consequences that might ensue from that. They would have to get a move on now. He turned his head towards the building. He really didn't want to leave, especially since he knew Snap was in there somewhere. But he had no choice. He would come back for Snap as soon as he and Penny figured out a rescue plan. Until then, all he could do was hope that Snap would be okay until then.

Rudy turned his attention to Penny and nodded his head. "Yeah...let's get going..."

Penny looked at him sympathetically. "I know leaving him is hard, Rudy. But don't worry... We'll get him back somehow."

"Yeah, I know we will." Rudy tried his best to sound convincing. He wanted to convince himself. But a small part of him was just uncertain. Just what had Mr. Wilter done to Snap?

Reluctantly, he and Penny started to leave when, suddenly, there was some kind of sound from the upper level of the house. They stopped and looked up. Rudy, staring intently at the window above them, walked a couple feet towards it. He listened intently at the sound, trying to figure out what it was. It was there only for a brief moment at a time. Almost like a popping sound but...not. It was hard to explain.

There was was again. And then some kind other sound, longer and shaky. It was muffled by the window. His first thought was that it was Wilter. His eyes widened slightly, a horrific thought settling in. What if it was Wilter...torturing Snap? He stared intently at the window. He..he had to find out. Despite the fact that he knew they had to get out of there, he had to find out what that sound was. He needed to know if Snap was getting tortured or not. Rudy rushed over to the pipe that led up by the window and grabbed onto it.

"Rudy!" Penny cried. "What are you doing?!" She ran over to him. "We need to get out of here! You're going to make too much noise!"

"I'm...just...going...to...see...what...that...noise...is..." Rudy said through clenched teeth as he hoisted himself up along the pipe. His arms wrapped tightly around the pipe, as well as his legs. He continued to push himself up slowly. "I...won't...make much..noise, I promise..."

"Oh Rudy..." Penny put a hand to her mouth. "Be careful..."

Rudy did feel guilty about disobeying his friend. He felt bad that, even after he understood the consequences and dangers of staying too long, he was climbing up the side of the house, risking making a lot of noise just for the sake of seeing what that noise was. Part of him told him to just let go of the pipe now and run. Another told him that it was just a little further up...just a little more, and he'd be able to see inside that window.

And he chose to listen to that part of him.

Rudy climbed up further, trying his best not to make noise. So far, Mr. Wilter hadn't come out of the house yet to investigate, so he was doing good. He continued climbing up, his eyes focused on the window. In a matter of a couple minutes, he was at the window. Keeping his legs tightly wrapped around the pipe, he reached out with his hand and grabbed onto the bottom part of the window. He pulled himself over and attempted to look inside.

Suddenly, his feet slipped from the pipe and he fell forward. Penny let out a horrified cry, reaching her hand out towards him. Rudy gave a quick shout and swung from side to side as he hung into the window tightly. He didn't have a lot of ledge to hold onto. Soon his feet were dangling a few feet from the ground. He gritted his teeth and hung on as tightly as he could. He looked down at Penny, giving her a terrified look, before he looked back towards the window. At least Wilter didn't seem to have heard that. He pulled himself up the best he could, using the frames of the window as foot holds...or in this case, hand holds.

Soon, he was able to push himself high enough, albeit with shaky arms, and looked inside. To try to increase his hold, he grabbed onto the top part of the window, which had more of a ledge. Before he continued to look inside, he steadied himself the best he could. He planted his feet against the side of the house to gain a little traction. It wasn't going to do him much good, but it was better than just leaving his feet hanging over the edge. He focused his attention back on the window, leaning forward and looking around.

The room looked incomplete, like Wilter was going to build something but had not yet finished. Based on what he was seeing, this looked like it was going to be a bathroom. He could see at least one exposed water pipe. It appeared to be plugged up good, though the sight of it made him uneasy. If Snap were in there... He shuddered at the thought. He was at least grateful that the curtains had been parted, otherwise not being able to see anything would have worried him even more...especialy with that sound...

He heard it again. It sounded closer, and now he could make out what it was. A sneeze... His eyes widened and his stomach twisted in knots. He hoped that wasn't Snap... And if it was, he hoped it was just real world dust messing with his nose. If...if he got sick here...

He was not able to finish his train of thought when he took notice of something in the corner of his eye. He pressed his face against the window and looked around, trying to make out that shape he saw. He saw something that looked bluish on the ground. It looked almost like some kind of small bean bag chair or something that Mr. Wilter set in there. Or maybe it was part of the bathroom. Maybe this was what was making the noise. Maybe the sneeze he heard wasn't a sneeze after all, but just some device Wilter was installing that was malfunctioning or something.

However, this assumption quickly turned out to be incorrect. To his shock, the small, blue thing began to move. It shifted on the ground and stirred. And when 'it' lifted up its head, revealing reddened eyes stained with tears, Rudy stifled a gasp of horror.

It was Snap...

There was no doubt about it... This was Snap. He shot a horrified look at Penny and mouthed Snap's name. Penny's eyes widened and she took a step forward, clasping her hands together and staring up at Rudy with almost pleading eyes. Rudy wanted to say something to her, but he found himself looking back at Snap. He took in a few quick breaths, his mind trying to register what he was seeing.

Snap looked horrible. His nose had a lot of thin, clear mucous coming out of it, his face reddened from what Rudy guessed was the onset of a fever. His body was a little dirty, like he was dragged around for a while. He saw few vomit piles on the ground, a strong indication that Snap really was sick. This was confirmed when Snap shuddered and then sneezed. Rudy felt his heart break at the sound, watching as Snap gave a pitiful shiver, as if the sneeze itself was hurting him.

Rudy could see some kind of chain attached to Snap. He couldn't see where it was attached to, though. His arm or neck he guessed. But why didn't Snap use his 2D powers to get out of there? Though it was hard to tell, it seemed like there was enough space under that door for him to slip through. What was preventing Snap from using those 2D powers of his to get the chain off? There had to be a reason. Snap wasn't stupid. He would know that he had that trick available in the real world.

Then something else confused him. How was Snap sick? He couldn't get sick in the real world, at least not from real world germs. He could only do that from chalk germs, and he was nowhere near there right this second. So...how did he get sick? The only way he could have done that was either if he picked up something from ChalkZone before he came into the real world, or...or if something happened to him here.

His eyes locked onto Snap's. The zoner saw him, took notice of him almost immediately. It felt like time froze. Snap's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, almost as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Despite clearly being sick, Snap's mind was still sharp enough to realize who he was, and recognition flashed in those white eyes. Snap seemed to mouth the name 'Rudy' as he struggled to his feet. Rudy's heart clenched as he watched his friend struggle to stand up, the disease clearly taking a hold on him.

Snap attempted to walk forward, but something was wrong with his head. Rudy gasped when Snap nearly fell over. The zoner clutched his head, his body shaking in pain. Rudy felt a few tears form in his eyes as he watched his friend suffer like that. Snap looked over at him, his eyes wide and pleading. Rudy could see some tears moving down his cheeks. He could tell, from what he was seeing now, that Snap had not been treated very well. He could see the fear eminating from his eyes, his friend's silent plea to get him out of there. Rudy wished he could whisk Snap away from there, but he knew he wouldn't be able to do that without a plan.

And soon he saw another reason he couldn't get Snap out of there. This reason also explained why Snap did not use his 2D powers, and it also explained just how he had gotten sick in the first place. And that reason sent ice throught his veins.

The cuff..went through Snap's left arm. He gasped in horror, almost losing his grip, when he saw the metal cuff going through Snap's arm. Not around...through. It was..it was as though Wilter knew Snap had 2D powers..and had punched the cuff through his arm so he couldn't use that ability to get out. The wound, even from here, looked bad. He could see a little pus and he could tell it was swollen and tender. That..that was how he had gotten sick. The wound was clearly infected...and without proper treatment, Snap was going to get worse...fast.

Snap wobbled over towards him, dragging the chain along. The expression on his face told a strong story. Snap was scared...frightened..and in so much pain. He barely lifted his left arm, as though the slightest tug would sent so much pain through his shivering form. Snap's eyes stayed locked onto his as he approached the window. Soon he went as far over as he could before the chain started to pull. As soon as the chain tugged him, Snap stumbled back and clutched his left arm, letting out a scream of pain.

The sight of this broke Rudy's heart in two. More tears flowed down his face. Snap opened his eyes, tears of pain dripping down his face. Snap stared up at Rudy pleadingly, reaching his good arm out towards him in hopes of getting out of there. Rudy bit his lip, wanting to do something to comfort his friend. Anything. But...but there was nothing he could do. He needed the keys to remove that cuff...he wouldn't be strong enough to remove it, and he and Penny knew of no trusthworthy adults to remove it for them. All he could do was press his hand on the window and stare at Snap with a worried expression.

Rudy started to mouth words, hoping that Snap would be able to understand what he was saying.

'I will get you out of there as soon as I can. I promise.'

Snap stared at him, then, slowly, he smiled. Rudy smiled back, a tear trinkling down his face. Snap understood... He knew he would do whatever it took to save him. Snap knew he would never turn his back on him, that he would get him out. And that was exactly what he was going to do. No matter how hard it was going to be, he'd get Snap out of there.

Suddenly a shout caught his attention.

"What are you doing up there?!"

Rudy let out a cry of surprise. He heard Penny give a shout of shock and he could have sworn he heard her tumbling a little. He was so shocked himself that he lost his hold on the window. He desperately tried to hand on. He grabbed onto the top part of the window, but he grabbed it so fast that he slipped and fell back down. He landed on the ground, Penny rushing over to his side. She helped him up to his feet and the two of them turned to face the angry, approaching neighbor.

"What do you think you kids are doing?!" The neighbor, a somewhat overweight man cried. His eyes were narrowed dangerously. "Don't you know you could have been hurt?!"

As Rudy and Penny began to speak with the angered neighbor, none of them realized that the window that Rudy was on had been partially opened. And the storm clouds were rolling in...

sss

Mr. Wilter grumbled softly as he looked outside. The storm clouds had rolled in much faster than he thought they would. The storm wasn't supposed to hit until later in the afternoon. But the weather prediction was often wrong, and that certainly was the case this time around. The storm started about an hour after he heard that knocking on the door. At least the lightning seemed pretty far away, so the worst of the storm wasn't there. Still, it was really coming down.

He watched as the roads shimmered with water. A thin sheat of it cascading along the ground. The wind pushed along it, making it look like miniature waves. Rain poured down loudly, tapping against his house almost like rocks. The wind howled, blowing the rain against his house. The lights had flickered a few times, but thankfully the power never went out. He hated storms and he hoped that this one would pass soon.

He had wanted to speak to Snap more about ChalkZone. He was close to getting a way inside. He hoped that Snap knew of another way in that wouldn't involve going to Rudy. He wanted to avoid that as much as possible. If Rudy found out that he has his friend, that wold definitely complicate things, especially if he tells his folks about it, or the police. They may not believe him when he says Snap is chalk and he would get arrested. No...best to avoid Rudy unless he absolutely had to see him. He did think of going after Rudy for the magic chalk, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized there had to be a better option.

However, he didn't want to interrogate Snap during a storm. There were a couple reasons behind this. The first one, he didn't like storms that much and this one would distract him too much. The rain pounding on the rooftop, the wind blowing through the neighborhood.. Yeah there was no way he was going to be able to tolerate this storm while he tried to interrogate Snap some more. He'd have better luck just waiting until it passes.

The other reason was Snap himself. He deduced that Snap would be afraid of water. Being chalk, he would get killed by it, or so he thought. That is what Snap told him, but whether or not that was true, he wasn't sure. But if it was, he imagined Snap would be scared of the storm and not be able to concentrate on talking to him. Interrogation is ineffective if the person he's talking to isn't paying attention to him. Even though Snap was more than safe inside a house like this, where the rain can't get to him, he'd imagine the zoner would still freak out. Yes, it would be best to wait until the storm passed.

He tried to think of something he could do in the meantime. The storm would probably last a couple of hours. As much as he wanted to use that time to get more information out of Snap, he felt it was a little impractical. Plus, the zoner would be fine being alone for a little while longer. Not like he can really go anywhere anyway.

Mr. Wilter thought back to his pet comments to Snap. He was still up in the air about that. A part of him thought it would be pretty neat to have an exotic pet, something he could flaunt around. But then, another part of him thought it was a little creepy, given how humanoid Snap looks. He reminded himself that Snap was just a chalk drawing and nothing more. He shouldn't feel awkward about that sort of thing. It was no different than having some exotic animal like a parrot or snake. That was all Snap was, boiling down to it. An exotic animal who just so happened to be able to speak.

If he did decide to keep Snap as a pet, he would have to tame him some more. He would need to keep him under control so he didn't try anything or attempt to escape. It seemed he could easily control him using that chalkboard. Perhaps if he continued with these threats, he could keep Snap for a long time. Of course, he would need to get him chalk food and chalk water so he didn't die on him. Perhaps he should create a permanent portal that he could use to grab food and water for him every day to keep him alive. Yeah, that would work.

There was a part of him that still felt guilty with the way he was treating Snap. Not terribly guilty, but enough that made him question some things. Snap wasn't dangerous, so why was he keeping him locked up like some kind of wild animal? He was afraid of him getting away, sure, but he could at least let Snap stay with him, even if the zoner didn't think of him as the best company. Snap might not like being locked up for hours all alone. He did leave him in that room cooped up alone most of the time. And if he were truly alive, then...

Mr. Wilter's thoughts were a little confusing, and he shook his head, trying to stop the mild headache that spread through his skull. The small bit of guilt was still there and he turned his head towards the stairs. The storm was getting louder. He imagined Snap might be scared. Mr. Wilter wouldn't be surprised. A lot of people were afraid of storms. Snap probably was, especially since this is real world water, not chalk water that he was used to. Mr. Wilter looked towards the stairs, feeling a small amount of pity. He imagined Snap was curled up against the wall, crying because of the storm. Well the storm would pass soon. Just a little time...a little time.

Suddenly, there was a loud scream. Mr. Wilter jumped out of his seat, his body tensing up. He could feel his heart racing from the shock of it all. He looked around, trying to find the source of the scream. Then there was another one, a little louder than before. He realized it was coming from upstairs. It was Snap. Mr. Wilter wondered what was wrong. He sounded like someone was stabbing him in the stomach or something. Not wasting time, he rushed up the stairs.

After scaling the steps, Mr. Wilter moved down the hallway towards the room where he kept Snap. He grabbed the doorknob and opened the door quickly. He rushed in and he stared at what was going on. He couldn't help but be shocked. This was not what he expected to find.

The window...it had been opened. But how? It was closed before. Did the wind open it up? Impossible. It was strong, but not that strong. Regardless of how the window was opened, though, that didn't change what he was seeing. Because the window was open, there was a small puddle of water forming on the ground. The rain was blowing right on. More and more water cascaded along the ground, forming ripples just like how he saw outside. And then there was Snap.

The zoner was screaming in fear. He was moving away from the water, going as far as he could. The water was getting close to him. He pulled harder, trying to get further away. Despite the fact that pulling the chain clearly hurt him, Snap was so panicked and desperate, he didn't care. All he wanted to do was get away from the water. Wilter noticed how horror-filled his eyes looked, how much he was shivering, the whole fear expression etched onto his face. This...this was definitely not faked emotion. Fear was not easy to fake, and Snap really was terrified of the water. He watched as Snap pulled the chain again, only to hurt himself and fall into the ground.

Then something happened that Mr. Wilter did not expect would happen.

The wind blew harder, pushing the rain in faster. Soon, in seconds, the water puddle reached where Snap was. The water touched his left hand. In an instant, Snap let out a bloodcurdling scream. Steam rose up from the hand. To Wilter's shock, there was a burn on the hand now, a pretty bad one. Snap pulled his arm to himself, or at least tried to, before yanking the chain and making him let out another scream and freeze. Then the zoner looked at the water coming towards him. He whimpered and cried in fear, trying to get away.

Mr. Wilter felt a pang of pity in his chest. He had just seen proof that water really did hurt zoners. Snap couldn't fake that. He had been telling the truth about the water. Mr. Wilter bit his lip. He was starting to feel a little sorry for Snap. His frightened expression, how scared he looked, it reminded him of himself as a child. Although he would have wanted to leave him in this room, until this mess was cleaned up, until the storm passed...he just couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to leave Snap in a room that was filling with water. Without hesitation, he rushed forward.

He grabbed onto a towel that was laying on the ground near where the bathtub would be completed. He carried it over to where Snap was and he placed it down in front of him, absorbing the water into it. Snap stared at this in confusion before glancing up at Wilter. Giving him a terrified expression, Snap cringed back, as if he expected him to hit him. Mr. Wilter gave him the most sympathetic expression he could give at the time.

"I'll let you out of this room. You can't go anywhere anyway in the storm. But you are not to leave my side, okay? I need to keep an eye on you. I know that you might try to hide from me. If you try to do that, I will erase that supervolcano into ChalkZone, do you understand?" Mr. Wilter asked. He wasn't sure if he would go through with it or not, but he needed someway to keep Snap in line. The zoner nodded his head shakingly. "Good... Now let me remove the cuff."

He could see a flicker in Snap's eye. Happiness perhaps? He would imagine Snap would still want the cuff out. Mr. Wilter planned on putting it back on later, so he hoped that Snap would enjoy this time while he could. He had no other means of keeping him captive, so as soon as the storm passed, the cuff was going back in. He watched as Snap, despite his fear, moved his damaged left arm over to him, clearly eager to have some relief from the cuff. Wilter wondered if there was something messing with Snap's mind a little.

Nonetheless, he reached over and he grabbed onto the cuff. He got a good grip on it with both hands and, without taking a breath, he pulled on the cuff hard. In seconds, he pulled the cuff apart, the metal exiting the skin. Snap's eyes widened and he let out a scream of agony. Mr. Wilter winced a little as he saw the blood that coated the metal device, some of it dripping on the ground. He let it drop to the floor and he looked over at Snap's arm. He took in a sharp gasp at how it looked.

Blood poured from the wound rapidly, coating Snap's arm. There was pus leaking out and he could see how swollen it was. There was some kind of odd smell coming from it and he realized that the wound was horribly infected. But..but how was that possible? Snap was a zoner... They didn't get disease like humans did...or did they? He wanted to tell himself that this was some kind of zoner trick, that Snap was faking this somehow. But, as he stared at the horrific wound, seeing all the pus and the infection, seeing how deep the wound was, he realized there was no way he could be faking this. It..it had to be real...

Mr. Wilter looked at Snap's face, noticing how red and flushed it looked. Snap's movements were a little wonky. He was swaying from side to side. Despite having the cuff removed, he was not trying to walk away. He couldn't even tell if Snap realized the door was open. He looked so tired...so pale and sickly. He soon realized that Snap was...he was reacting like any human would in the same situation. He was a zoner, but he was still reacting in a realistic way to an infection. His eyes looked over on the ground and he saw a bit of liquid discoloration. Did..did Snap throw up?

Mr. Wilter was about to say something when, without warning, Snap collapsed on the ground unconscious. Mr. Wilter looked at him in shock before kneeling down and shaking him. No response. He checked for a pulse. He soon found one, but it was so weak. Wilter bit his lip as he stared at Snap's prone form, letting everything settling into his mind. The impact of his actions slowly, but surely, began to weigh down on him.

Snap had been fine when he initially captured him the other day. There was nothing wrong with him, and he though that was how he would always be. He didn't think that Snap, despite being made of chalk, would have the same needs and reactions as a human, physically. He had put a metal cuff into his arm... and that act had caused him to get an infection, and now he was sick... On top of that, he knew the zoner was hungry and thirsty, and that made his condition worse and...

No...oh no...what...what had he done...?

Mr. Wilter scooped Snap up into his arms. His body shook from the realization of what he did. He carried Snap out of the room as quickly as he could. As he carried him down the stairs, he said one thing to him, even though he knew he couldn't hear.

"I'm sorry..."


End file.
